Come & Welcome

from the cross uplifted high,
where the Savior deigns to die,
what melodious sounds i hear
bursting on my ravished ear:
love's redeeming work is done!
come and welcome, sinner, come.

"sprinkled now with blood the throne,
why beneath thy burdens groan?
on my pierced body laid,
justice owns the ransom paid."
bow the knee and kiss the Son.
come and welcome, sinner, come.

spread for thee the festal board;
see, with richest dainties stored.
to thy Father's bosom pressed;
yet again a child confessed.
never from His house to roam.
come and welcome, sinner, come.

"soon the days of life shall end.
lo, i come your Savior, Friend.
safe your spirit to convey
to the realms of endless day
up to my eternal home.
come and welcome, sinner, come."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
i think a song like ths should always be the call to worship on sunday mornings, because every day we need to be reminded that we stand before God because of grace, and we aren't fighting to earn anything from Him anymore. we need to be reminded that we stand on grace, and so, despite the fact that we are sinners, we are welcome in church. as kevin said last night, when people complain about RUF because of all the hypocrites, he always responds, "well, we need one more, so come on." this should be the attitude of the church toward outsiders. not to say that we should be down with sin, but that what we all have in common is that we bring nothing to God. "love's redeeming work is done" means that we are ok. we are set. our ransom has been paid - we are free! yay justification.
the kindness of God in loving us - in providing and preparing not just food, but party platters of yummy goodness; in pulling us in close and intimate to His heart and treating us as His children; in allowing us to pay tribute to Him - is assured by the cross as well.
not only are our pasts and our presents in God's hands, but our futures as well. and when we die, we will be welcomed because of that same justification, in the same spirit of the welcoming and embracing presence of God in our lives in the in between.
personally, i think we should be welcoming people into church on sunday mornings in this same spirit, if that makes sense.