What do the following have in common?

discovering a fresh insight… working to build a community garden in a food desert… running… partnering with community service groups that are making a difference… worshipping at church… caring for the homeless… holding babies in the hospital nursery… subscribing to a new reading plan on the You Version Bible app…  dedicating a new business… singing in the worship team… visiting the veterans at the VA… reading the Bible… coloring prayer… writing your 7-year dream… walking in the early morning… joining the altar guild… going on a youth mission trip [for adults and students]… camping… building a house… learning how to create God Space in every conversation [faithBuilders]… biking… learning about preaching… writing a blog post… sharing a story… walking a dog… praying now

All of the above were actual invitations I have personally observed recently.

They were simply and effectively delivered through Facebook, in person, over the phone, with an email, by a hand-written note, or in a letter. Each invitation was extended naturally with eagerness because the inviter was fully and enthusiastically engaged. They loved what they were doing and saw the value in it.

There is something undeniable and unquenchable about a person who possesses a fiery passion for what they are doing. It’s contagious. Duty, obligation, burden, fear, hesitancy, all seem to melt away.

As followers of Jesus I often wonder why that joy and natural effort is so rare. I also wonder what might happen in the lives of our friends and neighbors who don’t follow Jesus if WE were to discover what we fully and enthusiastically loved as we followed Jesus. Do you think our friends and neighbors might be caught off guard and say, “I love it that they LOVE following Jesus”?

As you read this issue of the Good News ask yourself:

• As I follow Jesus, in what am I enthusiastically and fully engaged?
• With whom could I share my enthusiasm?

By the way, if you can’t answer these questions, start today by identifying someone who appears to be enthusiastically and fully engaged and ask them to share with you why they do what they do. This could be the first step for you to become part of a growing movement of people who are discovering the joy of an INVITATION MADE SIMPLE.