You know what they say — there’s no place like home for the holidays.
‘Tis the season for gratitude, family, and friends, yet it’s also the time when the ache of being on the outside can feel the strongest.
Have you ever considered what it feels like and means to be on the outside?
On Sunday, we closed out our series The Belonging Project, and we talked about Levi, also known as Matthew, in Mark 2.
There’s something beautiful about the way Jesus called him. Jesus didn’t wait for Levi to clean up his reputation or get his life together. He simply made space for him. He included him, invited him, and invested in him. A tax collector… someone everyone else actively avoided.
Underneath it all, don’t we all want the same thing? To belong. To be chosen. To know someone sees us and wants us at the table.
Matthew didn’t know it at the time, but a simple invitation into relationship changed the trajectory of His life. Jesus’s spiritual eyes saw right to His heart, including him in God’s story and family. Not only that, but Jesus laid back with him and his friends, those that the religious would never be seen with, and invested in relationship. And it makes you wonder:
- How might God want to use you in that same way?
- Where is He nudging you to step toward people who have been pushed to the edges?
- Where is He asking you to see others not through cultural labels, but through the Spirit’s eyes?
People belong before they believe. So, who is God asking you to include, invite, and invest in?
Who is he asking you to bring to the table and taste of His family and goodness? Especially in the midst of the holidays, when so many battle loneliness and crave connection.
Maybe it’s as simple as opening your home, making room at your table, or creating a moment for someone to breathe and feel seen.
If you missed Sunday, take time this week to watch the message. I believe it will encourage you and give you practical ways to help others experience the belonging Jesus has given you.
And speaking of belonging, we’re gathering together tonight for our prayer call from 7:00 to 7:30 pm on Zoom. Before we get there, here’s how we’re going to pray:
- For those on the fringes of society, on the outside looking in, waiting to belong. Those that battle loneliness and sadness, especially during the holidays.
- For God to open our Spiritual eyes to see the deeper needs within those around us, allowing us to include them.
- For God to give us courage to invite others into relationship and share our lives with them. That we would invite people out to outreach events and community group meetings.
- For God to sustain us as we invest in others, giving of ourselves and our time for them to see His glory and love.
‘Tis the season to spread light and belonging. Let’s pray that God makes us people who notice, who welcome, and who make room, as He did for us.
See you tonight at 7 pm.
Blessings,
Bria Johnson
bria@mosaicfortworth.com
P.S. Is there something specific you need prayer for this week? Just drop us a comment, and we’d be honored to pray for and with you.