"Just come home."

Last night, I was at my small group and during our discussion about grace someone talked about a friend they have and how they wished they would come to church. The main thing that was holding his friend back from coming was he thought that in order for people to come to church, they needed to get their bad habits "cleaned up" first. You see, his friend enjoys an occasional beer, hangs out in places that most Christians wouldn't approve of, uses language some might find offensive, etc, etc. I immediately thought about a story I read on a blog recently. How does God really feel about people who are unconnected from His church? And what does He think about their bad habits (sins)? Here's the story:

Did you hear about the story back in January of a boy named Shawn Hornbeck, who had been kidnapped when he was 11 years old? After his disappearance, his parents quit their jobs, depleted their savings and borrowed heavily as they devoted their lives to searching for him. After four years the parents had given up hope, until one day they received a phone call. It was the phone call they had been dreaming of since Hornbeck disappeared on October 6, 2002. Shawn’s parents were driving home from work when the cell phone rang. The voice on the other end was that of a local prosecutor. He asked them to pull over. Shawn’s father later said when he heard that his heart went through his chest. The voice then said, “We think we’ve found Shawn. We’re 95 percent sure.” Shawn’s father says, “Those were the sweetest words that we have heard in our lives. I think it will probably be the phone call I will remember for the rest of my life.” Soon Shawn, now 15 years old, was reunited with his parents. At his first sight dad yelled, “Oh my God! That’s my son!” The family embraced in a group hug they said they hoped would go on forever.

Now imagine this: Let’s say that when Shawn’s parents received that initial phone call, it went just a bit different. Let’s pretend they were informed, “We think we’ve found Shawn. We’re 95 percent sure. There’s only one problem. It turns out that while Shawn was living with his kidnapper he developed the habit of shoplifting.” How do you think Shawn’s parents would respond? Do you think they’d say, “Well then, we don’t want him back?” Or perhaps, “Well, please tell Shawn that he can come back home, but only after he cleans up his act. There will be no shoplifters in our home!” I doubt it. Okay, I more than doubt it, there is no way that’s what they’d say. Instead, they’d say, “Bring him home! We need him home! We want to hold him! We’ll talk to him about shoplifting later. In fact, we’re confident that once he’s back home and experiences our love and provision, he won’t feel the need to shoplift anymore. But we’re not worried about that right now. We just want him home.”

That's the kind of reception I pray that every single person receives whenever they walk through the doors of Community Christian. I also pray that's the kind of invitation our friends who are far from God will receive from us. Grace doesn't say - "Come home when you get your life straightened out." Grace says - "Just come home."