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Fun fact: Matthew was likely one of the most disliked people in his community at the time. As a tax collector, he collected money from the Jewish people to give to the occupying Roman army. The arrangement tax collectors had with Rome was that they paid their salaries from the extra they collected from their people. And to make matters worse, tax collectors were notorious for more than they needed to pay themselves. While we don’t know that Matthew was the one who did that, we do know he was hated simply because of his profession. Everywhere he went, he felt the ire of his people. That is until he encountered Jesus. When Jesus walked by, He did the opposite of what people normally did. Jesus invited Matthew in. He invited him to be one of His closest followers and friends. No wonder Matthew jumped at the offer! It changed everything for him. Matthew not only became one of the twelve disciples, but he also became one of the gospel writers. He is one of the reasons that we can read so much about Jesus’ life and ministry today. And it all started with an invitation.

Think about the people in your life who may need an invitation. Who can you invite to join you at church, for coffee, or just in a conversation? Take a step to extend an invitation to them this week.