“Repetition is the price of knowledge.” Dr. Keith Lamb, Doctorate in Theology

Over the past seven years these devotionals have repeated the gospel message over and over again. The messages of life in the Kingdom have been repeated. It is not that we forget these important messages, but to remind us that new believers come along all the time and they need to be greeted. In that spirit, let us talk about greeters.

Psalm 44:1-3 English Standard Version

To the choirmaster. A Maskil[Song] of the Sons of Korah. 

1 O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old: 2 you with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free; 3 for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them, but your right hand and your arm, and the light of your face, for you delighted in them.

Some of the sons of Korah were greeters.

1 Chronicles 9:19 English Standard Version (ESV) Shallum the son of Kore, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah, and his kinsmen of his fathers’ house, the Korahites, were in charge of the work of the service, keepers of the thresholds of the tent, as their fathers had been in charge of the camp of the Lord, keepers of the entrance.

The position of greeter is a venerated position with a long history of service to God. We should look to the service of the greeters with respect and honor because it is not only our first opportunity to shine a light upon the lost but they are our first line of defense of the gospel.

Greeters are a valued member of our fellowship and it should be considered an honor to be chosen to serve in that capacity. Greeters can influence the growth of a church just by being gracious to strangers. They are the welcoming committee. 

Greeters are worthy of praise, honor them as they greet us.

Psalm 37:23 English Standard Version (ESV) The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way;

Those of us who have children or have been around children, when they take those first steps, can remember the joy in seeing those first steps. We can see them wobble, unsteady, and reaching out for their mother or father as they are encouraged to walk towards them.

Think on this a moment while we reflect on being born again. Entering into the Kingdom of God, becoming a member of this great family, there are many who encourage us to walk by faith and we have not yet taken one step.

The first steps of faith will be just as unsure as that baby who is just learning to walk.

Father God is waiting with open arms to receive us. He is our heart’s desire. Who is holding us in His arms steadying us, holding us upright, encouraging us from a place of security to take that first step? It is Jesus Christ.

John 14:6 English Standard Version (SEV) Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Now for the little detail seen in Psalm 37:23, our steps are directed by God the Father when we take delight in the Son. The Son is the Way, His Way.

How can we take delight in someone we do not know intimately? Intimacy produces trust, and trust produces confidence, and confidence produces stability.

Babes in Christ do not know this when they first come to Christ. They have just been released from the penalty of sin and that might be the only thing they know and desire for the moment.

While we have been set free from the penalty of sin, we have not been set free from the presence of sin. Sin is the slippery floor that causes us to be unstable. As much as we want to walk and think we can, we had yet to take that first step of faith when first born again.

Remember that as we encourage others to walk by faith.