Tuesday is for Hospitality: hyphenated hospitality

  

Emmanuel.  God-With-Us.  The stunning Creator God names Himself in relation to His people.  The God who shares His identity With-Us.  The God who hyphenates His name with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Who signs His Word as Jacob-wrestling God.  His very being described in relation to His people.  This is phenomenal.

God-With-Us.  He's made Himself at home in us, among us and through us through the born-in-the-likeness-of-man humility of Jesus.  Who exists in us, among us, and through us in the form of Holy Spirit.  

If I let this mind be in me, what would my name become?  Who would I welcome into my very identity as a place of welcome?  What would my With-God name be?  

Tamara-With-Brian

Andrew, Alex, Kendra, Natalie-mothering-Tamara

That would be just for starters.

I've walked the broken path of x-ing out some of the names I'd have shared in my hyphenated hospitality.  It's a painful, ugly business.  Still, God is with us.  Still, I want to live With-God.  What if the hyphen is supposed to include the x-ed out ones?  I must welcome them back, to let this mind of the humble Jesus, so-closely-identified-with-us He poured Himself into the skin of Us.

Let the With-God life turn all my x's into hyphens.