No Soliciting

In August 2009 our chruch in Evansville celebrated it's 35th anniversary by having a church wide weekend of service. Everyone who went out to serve received a t-shirt that said "The Church has left the Building" and the verse from Galatians 5:6 "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." Our family participated in a clean up project at an elderly woman's home in downtown Evansville. We also baked dozens of cookies and distributed them throughout our neighborhood and on campus with a simple note that said "Just because God loves you." and John 3:16 printed at the bottom. It was absolutely amazing how touched people were to receive a bag of cookies for free and a friendly smile from our family.

The kids and I decided to do this again for our new neighborhood here in Fayetteville. We didn't baked so many cookies, but thought it would be a nice way to get to meet our neighbors. We rang doorbells at about 20 houses, but only gave away 10 bags of cookies today. Some people were not home while others, it seemed, may have avoided answering the door. Several doors had a homemade sign taped to the glass that simply read "No Soliciting". I explained to the kids that meant if we were selling something, the people who lived there were letting us know they were not interested in talking to us. I told them we were just stopping to say hello so it was ok to ring the doorbell.

It was so interesting to watch people's response to us - especially once they understood that we were not trying to sell them anything. We really did surprise them. Most opened their door slowly and cautiously prepared to say no, thank you, I don't want any. After we introduced ourselves and began to talk, their tight grip on the doorknob loosened and they relaxed to allow the door to open beyond a crack. We had some wonderful conversations.

One of the last houses we attempted to visit had a most disturbing note posted in the window. It read something like this. We ONLY buy Girl Scout cookies. DO NOT ring the doorbell or knock if you are selling anything else, if you are the FedEx man, or if you are a personal friend. We have everything we need. I was so sad and disturbed by this. I wondered why people would try to isolated themselves like this. And what if they do not know who Jesus is? Will their sign turn away the Good News as well? We rang the doorbell just in case, but no one answered the door.

What makes people become so afraid to open their front door? Why do we hideout from the rest of the world? Psalm 139 speaks to the intimate way God knows each of us.
1 You have searched me, LORD,
and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
you, LORD, know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

We read Jesus' prayer for his disciples in John 17:6-19. The first time I read these verses and grasped the intesity of his prayer I cried. The profound relationship he had with his disciples was unmistakable in the way he prayed for them. Then in verses 20-26 he prays for all believers - that means me! Jesus wants to be in relationship with me and he prayed for me and all the believers "that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— ²³ I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."

I hope that our little note and bag of cookies with open the door for us to share the love and relationship of Jesus Christ with the people around us. I know we can pray for our neighbors - the ones we met today and the people behind the unopened door. May God give me the courage to ring more doorbells and express his love.