Latecomers

In the book What Good Is God, Philip Yancey tells about his friend George sharing with him the difference between A.A. and most churches:

… in church if someone comes in late, people turn and look at the latecomers.  Some scowl, some smile a self-satisfied smile – See, that person’s not as responsible as I am.  In A.A., though, if a person shows up late, the meeting comes to a halt and everyone jumps up to greet the latecomer, aware that the tardiness may be a sign that the addict almost didn’t make it.  As George put it, “When I show up late, it proves that my desperate need for them won out over my desperate need for alcohol.

What if churches became places devoid of judgment and instead were marked by traits like humility, dependence, acceptance, and gratitude?  I don’t know about you, but I’d want to go to a place like that.