Be the One Who Says Hi

Hey, Carpool Crew! Happy Monday. I'm Pastor Justin, and before we jump in, let me give a big shout-out to Ryleigh, Jayce and Maddie Rose from Kentucky. So glad you are starting the week with us. And this episode is about the kid standing at the edge of the group, the one nobody has talked to yet. You know the one, hanging back at recess, watching everybody else laugh, wishing somebody would just wave them over? Yeah. We've all been there, on one side or the other. Let's jump in with the one thing I want you to remember for the ride: welcome the kid on the edge the same way Jesus welcomed you. Listen to this from Romans 15:7. Paul writes, "Therefore welcome one another, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God." Welcome is a warm word. It means you do not make somebody earn their way in. You open the door and say, you belong here. Paul wrote this to a church full of very different people who were not sure they fit together. And his answer was simple: welcome each other the way Jesus welcomed you, no auditions, no waiting in line. Here is the part that lands. Jesus did not wait for you to be cool enough or good enough to want you around. He welcomed you first. So you get to do that for somebody else. If Jesus were sitting next to you right now, He would lean over and say, "See that kid on the edge? I would go say hi. And when you do, that is Me, walking over through you." It is recess. There is a kid standing near the wall, kind of alone, watching the game like they wish they were in it. You do not need a speech. You just walk over and say, "Hey, want to play?" Three words, and the edge of the group just became the middle for somebody. Hey, this week, try this one thing. Find one kid who is standing on the edge, at recess, in the lunch line, at the bus, and say hi first. Do not wait to be introduced. Be the welcome. Hey, let's go back to that one thing I wanted you to remember for the ride. Welcome the kid on the edge the same way Jesus welcomed you. Remember, no matter where you are or how you're listening, God loves you. And parents, want your kids hearing more truth more often? Carpooling with Jesus+ gives you bonus episodes every week, including weekends, so faith is not just a weekday thing. Before you go, let's answer this question together. Who is one kid on the edge at your school, and what would it look like to say hi to them first this week? I'll see you tomorrow on Carpooling with Jesus.