Reflections upon the homes of the saints...

I've had two fellas from Canada at my place this weekend. Jesse is from my the College and Career at my church in Saskatoon and Steve is his traveling partner. They're on like a 2 month road trip and they contacted me a few days ago, asking if they could crash at my place. Anywho, we explored Burbank a bit and I took them to Grace Community Church on Sunday. We also explored Beverly Hills and Bel Air and tried to get to Rodeo drive but couldn't because it was shut down due to the filming of some show. Dang it!

But, tonight I dragged them along to a birthday party in Valencia of a friend I met from The Masters College (like 3 weeks ago) and they were kinda hesitant to crash a Canadian Thanksgiving/birthday party with a bunch of people they didn't know. I actually was also hesitant, as I'm not one for having to 'perform' in large crowds (i.e turn my 'goofiness' up to 11) and end up breaking the ice for everyone...though I kinda did. You're all welcome. I'm not actually that stupid in real life, but laughter definitely lightens up a room a lot.

As we finished eating, one of the girls suggested that we all go around the table and say what we're thankful for. We ended up all saying our things and then Steve commented that "it's so amazing to be 2,500 miles from home, in the house of people I've known for all of two hours, eating their food and talking with relative strangers, but for some reason, have it be all cool. We stayed with some non-Christian friends in San Fransisco and they were hospitable and all, but since we have a bond in the Lord it's like being with family. I didn't think I'd be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with family while I was traveling, but God had other ideas!"

I nodded in agreement, for I was secretly thinking the same thing but didn’t want to say it for fear of sounding cheesy. But that’s so fantastically true. Being around Christians, eating and sharing and laughing together is fantastic. It’s really weird how Christ in my heart gravitates toward Christ in the hearts of others, and I got thinking:

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." – John 13:34-35

It is one thing to let a total stranger crash on your couch, but it’s another to love them, share your home with them, share yourself with them and show genuine affection to weary brothers. I would guess that if we did that a lot more, we wouldn’t need to spend so much time arguing with cynics and skeptics about the faith. Until Next Time,

The Armchair Theologian