R.S.V.P.

Here's a fun lesson in mythical creatures. When vampires were real, ie. not sparkly, the only way they could enter someones home was by being invited in. Typically they would trick the person into inviting them in. The person would need to verbally invite them in, and then the vampire could enter as he pleased; whatever mystical barrier that was in place was removed. This means two things to me, one is that all the annoying Twilight fans waiting for their sparkly vampire dreamboat to sneak into their room and take them away will be disappointed.

The second is that invitations have powerful meanings.

This idea came to me last week Thursday. I was supposed to meet some friends in the Dinning Commons to go see the Lion King in 3D. Side not for context, Thursday in the DC is also the meeting for Living Waters. Living Waters is a weekly gathering for spiritual renewal. It has sermons and testimonies, and then they move into the "wacky" Christian stuff, like healing and prophesying. I say wacky, meaning uncommon. I have never really seen this kind of things in action. Anyhow, back to my story. I got there and couldn't find them. It seemed like they were gone. I heard what was going on, and usually, I would duck out and go back to my dorm. However, my friend Jessica invited me to sit with her. I'm glad that she did. I listened and was interested by the speaker's talk about brokenness, and after, I sat in on a session of prophesying. I'm still curious about it, but a lot of it seemed very important to the person we were asking insight for.

I could (and probably will) get into an article about these spiritual gifts, but this update is just going to talk about invitation. Inviting someone in is a powerful thing. I would have left that Thursday if I hadn't had someone friendly invite me in. How strange is that? I didn't want to be in a Christian meeting without the presence of someone I consider a friend. Having a friend ask you to be there makes an experience that might have been uncomfortable originally, a time of comradery. Imagine if you were to go to a party on your own, it would be awkward, you might know people, but you would be their because you wanted to be, not because you were asked. If someone invites you, however, it sets you at ease, and gives you an anchor. The person who invited you is someone you can rely one, and from there branch out to others.

This whole thing really drives home a need that Christians should fulfill. If we invited more people more friends, to church or to our church gatherings, who knows what would happen. The benefits could be numerous. People may just feel awkward about going to a church or bible study on their own, and if someone invites them to join them, they feel included. What do we have to be afraid of? We aren't trying to drag them kicking and screaming to our churches, but bring them in as friends. I believe that if we invite them to join us, more will take up our offers. We don't always have to be the ones to change them, just the ones to show them where they can find answers. Invitations are powerful, and they can really help change someone's mind about a given situation.

Let's just not invite people to those snake handling services, that might not be a good idea.

Just something to chew on.