Do you know people who are just great at making others feel welcome?  Perhaps they are the kind of person who just brings a smile to your face when you see them.  Perhaps they do an amazing job at greeting people.  It is in treating me that at the end of the book of Romans, which is this great letter of theology from Paul, he spends 16 verses talking to us about greeting others. He reminds us that it is incredibly important to make others feel welcome.  Let’s look together at this passage from Romans 16 today. 

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. 2 I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. 4 They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. 5 Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia. 6 Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was. 8 Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys. 10 Greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus. 11 Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew. Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. 12 Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the other brothers and sisters with them. 15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the Lord’s people who are with them. 16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.

It would be very easy to read over this section and not think too much about it.  If I am honest I probably have done that many times.  Greeting others and making them feel welcome is a way of loving and affirming them.  I remember a friend of mine who had Cerebral Palsy who always would run up to me and hug me whenever he saw me.  That small act always completely made my day no matter what I was going through in my life. Greeting others like that is certainly the way that Jesus acted and lived.  He made the unwelcome feel welcome time and again.  It is a way to affirm others and value them when we take time to greet them well.  Today, make it a point to intentionally greet others well.  Share the love of Christ in that little way and see how God uses that in others lives. 

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave