While rounding a corner on a run in the United States the other day, I came across a Muslim women clad in a headdress and robes. I could see her cower off the sidewalk a bit as this white, American man came plodding her way in middle America. You could sense her apprehension and read her thoughts of “here we go again.”
I greeted her warmly, commenting on the beautiful day. You could visibly see her relax and the tension leave her body.
I’ve been in her position before. I too have been the foreigner in a land and culture which is not my own. I can relate to wishing I could change my nationality or accent in order to blend in. I wouldn’t wear my USA soccer jersey because of the perception of my nation in South Africa.
There are many foreigners in South Africa who have a much rougher go than an American not wearing a soccer jersey.
South Africa is a land of opportunity for the rest of Africa. I have met doctors and lawyers who clean houses and wash cars to escape a corrupt government or hope for a better life.
With immigration and refugee issues we actually have the mission field coming to us in both South Africa and the United States.
In the past, persecution of Christians caused the gospel to spread in the book of Acts. Now the persecuted and displaced are often not believers.Today, we have nations with bad presidents and horrible conditions, People are fleeing for a better life. The mission field is coming to us.
I recently learned of an Egyptian friend moving to the United States. For the first time in my life I was quite nervous to hear of someone moving to my country. I fear for the welcome she will face as a person of Middle Eastern descent even if she is a Christian.
The Bible speaks often about hospitality, devoting 2 books to this (2/3 John) as well as making it a requirement for leadership (1 Timothy 1:2, Titus 1:8).
We often define hospitality as having guests our house or making meals for our friends. The true definition is doing this to people you do not know.What does loving the stranger look like today?
Jesus told us to love God and our neighbors. In the classic parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10), the entire story is told based on the question, “Who is my neighbor?”
Who is our neighbor that we are to love? Those who look and sound just like us? The kingdom will not advance unless we go to those who hail from different places. Without bridging these divides we will merely build up our local Christian bubbles.
Hospitality is love of the stranger and those who are different than us. Perhaps instead of us going to the mission field, today the mission field is coming to us!
In the current climate, this has become a very political discussion.
Let’s lay our politics aside and have a gospel discussion about loving our neighbor, showing care for the stranger, and sharing the gospel with whoever God brings our way.
This week, let’s take a step in the direction of inclusion rather than exclusion.
- Let’s do something kind for a stranger
- Greet someone who looks or sounds different than us in a warm manner.
- Be aware of our stereotypes, our words, and our thoughts to the “foreigner” in our midst
- And most of all – lets extend the kingdom of God.
This post first appeared on A Life Overseas.
Photo credit: Look through the window via photopin (license)