The calling of Jesus "requires" something of us – but not as a calling that simply takes something "from" us. Rather, the calling of Jesus requires something of us the way a seed requires water and sunlight.

Just like a seed requires water and sunlight to grow and flourish, Jesus requires us to become vulnerable. Jesus asks us to go into the places to be with people we could never imagine being with. Perhaps these risks we must take are the very things "required" for us to grow and flourish in the way of Jesus.

This last week of "The Host" is a culmination of conversations we have been having together for the past few weeks about hospitality, calling, and mission. However – beyond giving hospitality, answering calling, and responding to the mission of God – this calling of Jesus will always ask us to also be willing to receive the same hospitality from others.

These practices are not just about being "for" others and "for" God. These practices are about learning to be "with" others and be "with" God. These practices are about presence.