Be All There
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Unbelievable!
Brenda and I pulled up in the driveway of some people we knew, several long hours of driving behind us. Somehow, the house just looked empty.
They knew we were making the long trip to see them. Yet, after knocking and ringing the bell, they were in fact not home.
Later on, we found out that there was not even a good reason! They simply didn’t find it important to be there to greet us when we arrived. You can imagine our disappointment.
Perhaps that is an extreme example, but how we say hello and goodbye to people sets the relational thermostat. Are we cool or warm when we greet them? How attentive are we to people coming and going from our presence? Isn’t that what friendliness is: paying attention to people?
An obscure, shy gardener named Hubert Bales died in a small town. He squirmed, blinked his eyes rapidly, and smiled nervously when he talked. Hubert never ran in influential circles. He grew shrubs and trees, working with his hands on the plot of land left by his father. He was anything but an extrovert.
Yet when Hubert died, his funeral was the largest in the little town’s history. There were so many people that they filled even the balcony of the church building.
Why did such a bashful man win the hearts of so many people? Because despite all his shyness, Hubert knew how to make friends. He cared about people and put them first for more than 60 years. Perhaps because they recognized that his friendliness was an extra effort for someone so reserved, people loved him back by the hundreds.
You and I can be friendly too! The Apostle Paul encourages us in 2 Corinthians 13:12, “Greet one another with a holy kiss.” NIV
The Lord calls us to greet or salute one another, to acknowledge one another’s presence and importance. When we are attentive to the coming and going of people, we tell them they are valuable.
Do you want to know the most effective vitamin to help you make friends? B1.
Someone has defined city life as “thousands of people being lonesome together.” Having lived in smaller communities, I have developed the habit of looking into the eyes of people I meet. The larger the city, the more surprised and uncomfortable people are with eye contact when it comes to strangers.
It’s neither possible nor practical to stop and talk to everyone we pass. However, when we engage in hellos, goodbyes, and conversations, we honor people by giving them our full attention. Jim Elliott exhorted, “Wherever you are, be all there.”
Jesus was – and is – the master of giving people His full attention. The Apostles Paul and Peter command us five times in the Bible to greet one another with a holy kiss or a kiss of love.
I am not advocating kissing everyone we greet, but let’s not overlook an essential practice in relationships. Even when busy, we can greet people and seize opportunities to bless them.
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Allan Pole pastors New Beginnings Church International of Calgary and leads Cooperative ESL Ministries. He has a Doctor of Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary. Allan and his wife, Brenda, live near Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and have two married children and two grandchildren.