You must not oppress a foreign resident; you yourselves know how it feels to be a foreigner because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. Exodus 23:9
Dear friend, you are showing faithfulness by whatever you do for the brothers, especially when they are strangers. 3 John 5
My words…
Praise
From a child, I was taught to be wary of strangers. Don’t talk to strangers. Don’t take candy from strangers. Decades later, those words still echo in my mind when I am approached by someone I don’t know. (Except for the candy part. I think I would take candy from anyone.) Jesus, You sought out twelve strangers to hang out with for the final three years of Your earthly life. You called to a stranger who had climbed a tree to see You better and invited Yourself to his house. You healed strange, contagious people who called out to You, begged You, and grabbed You. But then again, were they really strangers to You? To the wholly man, they were, but to the wholly God, they weren’t. You knew their hearts, their intentions. But that never stopped You from healing the ungrateful or teaching the stone-hearted. But one thing is for sure: You were a stranger to them, and many treated You thus. You, the God of creation being treated as a stranger within what You created. That must be the reason You loved every stranger: You knew how it felt to be a “foreigner” in a land in which You knew the number of leaves on every tree.
Prayer for me
Just as I was taught to take care around strangers, so was I taught to practice kindness to all. But there is a difference between my kindness to strangers and Your compassion for them. That is what I lack. I smile and say hello, but I don’t care to know about their cares and struggles. It’s just too much of a burden for me. Their concerns may take up too much of my time. And so I pray – fill me with compassion for the strangers I move among. Remove the selfish film from my eyes so I may see them as You would see them.
Forgive me
There are so many blessings I embrace by being a child of Yours. You offer peace during my times of stress, rest when I am life-weary, joy in the most unlikely places. But what is most precious to me is Your unfailing, never-ending forgiveness. It wouldn’t be as precious if I never messed up. But I do mess up. All the time. And so I need forgiveness. All the time. Today I ask Your forgiveness for my lack of compassion, especially to strangers. Forgive me for my apathetic attitude. Forgive me for not practicing what You teach.
Prayer for others
What I have learned about being a stranger has taken place the last few years when I left the white fields of snow for the white fields of cotton. I don’t think “smoke” should be a flavor of meat and collard greens are just not edible. I live among those who use words like “win-der” instead of “window.” I am the stranger here. But I do not suffer ill treatment because of it. There are millions around the globe who have been displaced from their homes. They live in camps and shanty towns, in makeshift homes or tents. They are persecuted, ravaged, and murdered because they are foreigners. They are truly strangers. Protect them, Lord. Send comforters and liberators. Send people whose hearts are more compassionate than mine.
More praise
To the rolling hills, tumbling streams, and majestic mountains, You are no stranger. The blue jay, mountain lion, and white shark know You by name, as does every demon. And You are not a stranger to me. I may not know You as well as the oceans do, but I know You well enough to recognize Your hand in my life. And the one thing that fully sustains my spirit, that fills my heart with indescribable joy, is the surety that I am not a stranger to You.
