17 When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers received us warmly.
There is nothing so warming to the heart after a struggle and journey than to be warmly greeted when you arrive. We see it in the news when soldiers return from their combat tours in Iraq or Afghanistan. You see families holding signs and tearful and sometimes passionate embraces. Having been through this myself, words cannot express the joy and relief when I finally saw my wife and children. I was overjoyed even to see the ground that was friendly. Everything was not covered in dust. There was green! And the look in my wife’s eyes as she greeted me set my heart at ease. Paul has been on a journey for over a year, perhaps several years. He has had some significant opposition, even life-threatening at time. There were moments when the enemy came at him wanting to kill him. He bears in his body the scars that remind him of those encounters. Some have accepted the message of Life and some have rejected it with a vengeance. So when Paul returns and is accepted warmly he enjoys the warmth. So next time someone in your family is absent because of work, greet them warmly when they return. It sends a powerful signal that can be felt throughout their whole body. It lets them know that home is a safe and comfortable place because they are welcomed there. No quotas to make, no paperwork to fill out, no expense reports, just love and acceptance.
The Arnold Journey 