"For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:
He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.
Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt."
Deuteronomy 10:17-19
In our modern society we often advocate the fear of strangers. "Stranger Danger" is what we pass on to children to warn them to be aware that people they don't know might not have their best interests at heart. ... And I am certainly not advocating placing children in danger. However, perhaps we ourselves take the idea too far. God asks us in these verses to love the stranger, as he does. I don't think that necessarily means accepting candy or rides from them right away, but I submit that there are many ways to love others without placing ourselves in danger.
One of the ways we define "stranger" is people that we don't know, and another way suggested by the verses above is people who aren't from our own country, or who are "not like us" in some other way, as the Hebrews and the Egyptians were different. Even when Joseph was second only to Pharoah, it tells us that the groups ate separately: "the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians." So, even living together in the same nation, they were strangers in many ways, being different and having differing traditions and practices.
How do we love the stranger? Leviticus tells us "But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself" (19:34). Matthew states "Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or thirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?" (25:44), and Mosiah asks "For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?" (5:13). All of these verses seem to advocate treating strangers just like we treat everyone else, and loving and serving them as we would a friend or a brother. The last verse especially suggests that God is a stranger to us in many ways, and that as we serve him and think about him and consider his desires, we get to know him better. And that is probably a good way to approach all non-kidnapping stranger interactions. :) One of the ways to love strangers is to get to know them, and consider their perspective. This helps us turn strangers into friends, even when they remain strange to us in some way. :) And, honestly, aren't we all a little strange sometimes? :)
Today, let's remember that God doesn't ask us only to love our families or the neighbors that live on the same street, but that he asks us to love everyone, including strangers, and even beyond strangers, enemies (Luke 6:27). Let's reach out to those that might be strange to us, in whatever way, and get to know them and work to understand their perspectives. Let's love and minister to those we come into contact with, learning to appreciate and serve people who are different than we are. Let's keep God in our thoughts so that he won't be a stranger to us, and let's turn all the strangers and even enemies that we come in contact with into friends where possible, and even when we can't, let's treat them with love and respect.
He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.
Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt."
Deuteronomy 10:17-19
In our modern society we often advocate the fear of strangers. "Stranger Danger" is what we pass on to children to warn them to be aware that people they don't know might not have their best interests at heart. ... And I am certainly not advocating placing children in danger. However, perhaps we ourselves take the idea too far. God asks us in these verses to love the stranger, as he does. I don't think that necessarily means accepting candy or rides from them right away, but I submit that there are many ways to love others without placing ourselves in danger.
One of the ways we define "stranger" is people that we don't know, and another way suggested by the verses above is people who aren't from our own country, or who are "not like us" in some other way, as the Hebrews and the Egyptians were different. Even when Joseph was second only to Pharoah, it tells us that the groups ate separately: "the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians." So, even living together in the same nation, they were strangers in many ways, being different and having differing traditions and practices.
How do we love the stranger? Leviticus tells us "But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself" (19:34). Matthew states "Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or thirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?" (25:44), and Mosiah asks "For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?" (5:13). All of these verses seem to advocate treating strangers just like we treat everyone else, and loving and serving them as we would a friend or a brother. The last verse especially suggests that God is a stranger to us in many ways, and that as we serve him and think about him and consider his desires, we get to know him better. And that is probably a good way to approach all non-kidnapping stranger interactions. :) One of the ways to love strangers is to get to know them, and consider their perspective. This helps us turn strangers into friends, even when they remain strange to us in some way. :) And, honestly, aren't we all a little strange sometimes? :)
Today, let's remember that God doesn't ask us only to love our families or the neighbors that live on the same street, but that he asks us to love everyone, including strangers, and even beyond strangers, enemies (Luke 6:27). Let's reach out to those that might be strange to us, in whatever way, and get to know them and work to understand their perspectives. Let's love and minister to those we come into contact with, learning to appreciate and serve people who are different than we are. Let's keep God in our thoughts so that he won't be a stranger to us, and let's turn all the strangers and even enemies that we come in contact with into friends where possible, and even when we can't, let's treat them with love and respect.
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