The opening line brings to mind the opening of Psalm 127, "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain." Taking that image of building a house, Haugen developed this song with a focus on radical hospitality, where indeed, all are to be welcomed in the name of Christ. He initially composed and published it in two arrangements with multiple options—as a hymn or as a concertato with choir and several instrumental parts based on local congregational resources. It was first published in a song collection and CD by the same name.

Marty Haugen (b. 1950), is a prolific liturgical composer with many songs included in hymnals across the liturgical spectrum of North American hymnals and beyond, with many songs translated into different languages. He was raised in the American Lutheran Church, received a BA in psychology from Luther College, yet found his first position as a church musician in a Roman Catholic parish at a time when the Roman Catholic Church was undergoing profound liturgical and musical changes after Vatican II. Finding a vocation in that parish to provide accessible songs for worship, he continued to compose and to study, receiving an MA in pastoral studies at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul Minnesota. A number of liturgical settings were prepared for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and more than 400 of his compositions are available from several publishers, especially GIA Publications, who also produced some 30 recordings of his songs. He is composer-in-residence at Mayflower Community Congregational Church in Minneapolis and continues to compose and travel to speak and teach at worship events around the world.