“He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.” Matthew 10:40
Many years ago, before we were married, my future wife's parents invited me to their home for a visit. Amanda and I had been dating for a while. I suppose her mom and dad realized they would not get rid of me, so they invited me to stay for a couple of days to get to know me better.
When I arrived, Amanda’s mom said, “We want you to feel welcome.” I said, “Thank you.” She said, “No. You don’t understand. We really want you to feel welcome. We want you to feel like you are part of the family.” I smiled and said, “I really appreciate your hospitality.”
I stayed in the bedroom of their youngest daughter, Amy, who bunked with Amanda. It was a little awkward to stay in the room of a thirteen-year-old girl. The bed was very small, and my feet hung over the end. Stuffed animals covered the bed, and the blankets were pink. It was not very manly, but I didn't mind. I looked forward to relaxing. My plan was to sleep in the following day.
I was awakened early by a knock. I opened my eyes and looked at the red digital clock. It was 4:45 in the morning. Amanda's dad knocked at the door. He said, "Today is spirit day at school, and Amy needs her red shirt." I said, "Come on in." He came in with Amy. They turned on the light and started digging through the closet. It was 4:45 in the morning.
Amanda’s parents had a dog. His name was Lucky. Lucky was not a small dog. He was a giant, gray Weimaraner. He must have weighed a hundred pounds. Lucky ran through the open door, jumped onto the bed, and attempted to get under the covers. He grabbed the pink blankets with his teeth and started to pull them off me. It was 4:45 in the morning.
Amanda's dad and sister were still searching for the red shirt. They paid no attention to the dog. After a minute, Lucky let go of the blankets, but he licked my face and nibbled my ear. All the while, Amanda's dad and her sister continued to look for the shirt. It was 4:46 in the morning.
Amanda came in and started helping them. Three people were in the room looking for a red shirt. The lights were on, and the dog was trying to rip my ear off. It was 4:47 in the morning.
Amanda’s mom walked into the room. The entire family was there – Amanda, her sister, her mom, and her dad. They all searched for the red shirt. Lucky the dog chewed on my ear. Nobody paid attention to Lucky. I thought I should jump up and scream, “Let me help you all find that red shirt!” It was 4:48 in the morning.
Twenty minutes went by. They destroyed the bedroom…but they never found the red shirt.
They walked out, turned out the light, closed the door, and left Lucky on the bed with me. My hair and face were wet from dog slobber. Lucky had his teeth clenched on my ear.
After a minute, Amanda's mom opened the door and called the dog. I heard her scream as she slammed the door, "You left the dog in there. You are going to wake James up if you're not careful. We want him to feel welcome!"
Looking back, I don’t know if I felt welcome, but I sure felt Lucky.
Sometimes, we treat Jesus the same way. We say, “Jesus, You are welcome in my house, but don't enter the computer room. There are some things in there that I like to look at, but I don't want You to see."
Jesus, You are welcome but don’t look at my television. There are programs that I watch, but I don’t want You to see them.
Jesus, I want to welcome You into my heart because I don’t want to go to hell, but you can’t own everything. You can’t be welcome everywhere in my life.
In the tenth chapter of Matthew, Jesus said, “He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.” In other words, we should receive or welcome Jesus into every area of our lives.
The point is that Jesus can't be your Savior if He is not your Lord.
Will you welcome Him into every area of your life?
