The Joy of the Invitation

A friend was talking about inviting people.When you invite someone to the movies, for a cup of coffee, to church, or even into a new opportunity, your true responsibility, if it genuinely comes from your heart, is simply to extend the invitation. That’s why it’s called an invite.Your job is not to evaluate the condition of the person you’re inviting. It is not to measure what they might receive from the place you are going together.An invitation is an opening of the heart. You extend it because you believe there may be something meaningful for them on the other side.An invitation is like offering a key.You do not know what waits behind that door for them.You do not know if they will use the key immediately, save it for later, or simply place it in their pocket while the door remains closed.But that is not your responsibility.The invitation is simply allowing the desire in your heart to flow outward, to offer the key freely.What they do with it is not part of your calling.Your joy comes from extending it.Today, blessings are like small packets filled with keys of all kinds. If it is in your heart, start giving them away.The joy is in the giving!“So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.”— 1 Corinthians 3:7 (NIV)BW