“2 Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!” (Hebrews 13:2).
One of the first things we teach our children is “don’t talk to strangers.” Spiritually speaking, every lesson we learn about welcoming strangers is the exact opposite of what we teach our children. Why the disconnect? Is it because of fear? When I was a child, we rode our bikes miles away from home. Parents would say things like “be home before supper” or “be home before dark.” The late news at 10:00 pm would start the newscast with “It’s 10:00 pm, do you know where your children are at?” Wow, how times have changed. Now children can’t even ride their bikes without wearing an egg-shelled bicycle helmet, and they can’t leave the sight of their parents. Smartphones have GPS trackers, so parents can always know where their children are. The next thing you know, we will have our children chipped like we do our pets. The world of technology and the information age has made us all paranoid and causes us to live a life based on fear instead of love. You can’t trust anyone anymore! Can I get a witness?
We live in an age where if people don’t look like us, talk like us, live like us, act like us, believe like us, vote like us, smell like us, and treat others like us, then they are a threat to us and should be ignored, not trusted, and possibly dehumanized all together. We don’t pick up hitchhikers; we don’t pull over to help people on the shoulder of the road; we don’t answer the door for strangers; we don’t answer the phone if we don’t recognize the number. If you are a stranger, you are dead to us unless, of course, you have something to offer us. God forbid if you come from another country looking for a better life or trying to survive.
If we look at our ancestors’ history, we quickly discover that they were all strangers (immigrants) to a new land at some point in history. My DNA shows I am 40% English, 25% Irish, and the balance of white European descent. The mix of our DNA alone is enough evidence to prove that we come from a lineage of strangers embarking on a journey to pursue their dreams for themselves and future generations. Another observation of DNA is there is no % of whiteness, blackness, brownness, etc., so when did being white, black, brown, etc., start dividing us? Let’s remember that humankind created racism, not God. The reality is we are different shades of one color. If we trace our human lineage back to the beginning, we will discover we all came from the same litter. Regardless of the color of our skin, when we bleed, we bleed red.
The isms and phobias we all suffer from cause us to put people in categories and create barriers between them. People are strangers because we make them strangers. Humans themselves are responsible for the class we call strangers. God says, welcome strangers. Treat strangers in the same manner as you hope to be treated. Most businesses and even churches say, “everyone is welcome,” but are they? Does everyone in your church look like you? Do all your friends look like you? A quick look around your context should reveal how welcoming your environment is to strangers.
- How do you interact with strangers?
- When is the last time you helped a stranger?
- Why are you afraid of strangers?
- Besides a few token friends, how many people with a different skin color do you spend time within the community?
- Do you know what the different percentages of people of color are in your township? Where do they live? Where do they go to church, etc.? How might their church family and your church family worship and serve together?
- Is it possible you failed to welcome an angel, and you didn’t even know it?
Our challenge today is to welcome, love, and serve a stranger in some way. You can start with a smile and by saying hello.
Lord, I must confess that fear is a factor in my hospitality towards others. I allow my isms and phobias to control my friends, community, service, and influence. Please help me shed my fear of strangers. Remove from my heart anything and everything that poisons my willingness to love strangers like myself. In Your Spirit and Name, I pray these things. May Your will not mine always materialize, now and forever, Amen.
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