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We Were Strangers

By Jim Ruff, Associate Director of CEIM

One of the most difficult adjustments for a new missionary upon arriving on the field is overcoming the overwhelming feeling of being a foreigner, an alien, and a stranger. Whether “gringo,” “gaijin,” or “l’etranger,” the missionary is usually easy to pick out, and—in some cultures more than others—the stares and whispered comments do not decrease over the years. Many years ago, my family struggled with a particular experience: a child saw one of us from a distance and screamed, “A foreigner; I’m afraid!” Even though the missionary gradually begins to feel very much “at home” with the people, he or she is always strange, new, and different to someone, just as there is always someone in your home country different to you.

What type of feelings does seeing or meeting a foreigner summon up in you? More importantly, what type of mindset does God want us to have towards others who may look or seem different?

In His grace and loving-kindness, God gave Israel specific guidelines for dealing with strangers, even to the point of instructing them to have a certain attitude toward the aliens who came to be among them. The Israelites were told not to wrong or oppress a resident alien, for the Israelites were also strangers in the land of Egypt, and they knew the “feelings of a stranger” (Exodus 22:21; 23:9). The Lord made an even stronger demand in declaring that they were to treat the resident alien who was with them as “one born among” them, and demanding that they love him “as themselves,” sealing it with the stamp of finality: “I am the Lord your God,” (Leviticus 19:33-34; Deuteronomy 10:19). Jewish commentators have often pointed out that in Leviticus 19:34 God is not demanding love for proselytes, but love for resident aliens in general. The same word is used of Israel’s status in Egypt, and they did not become “proselytes” to Egyptian religion.

The very humanness and stubbornness of many Israelites prevented them from keeping the spirit of these commands, and their failures are frequently noted in the Bible. Yet, positive examples are also to be found. In 2 Samuel 15:19, David spoke of Ittai, the Gittite, as being a foreigner and an exile. The concern David demonstrated for this man, who was separated from his home in the Philistine city of Gath, was such an example.

If the Israelites struggled in keeping the spirit of God’s commands, how then can a contemporary Christian do better? God has provided the answer. How does the Christian learn kindness? God was kind to us (Romans 2:4). How do we know love? God loved us (1 John 4:19). How do we learn humility? Christ humbled Himself for us (Philippians 2:1-8). These passages provide keys to open up the minds and hearts of Christians in their relationships with aliens and strangers. Since God loved you, love! Since God delivered you, preach deliverance! You were prisoners, blind, bound, hopeless, and dead in trespasses and sins. While this is not universally true in our churches, many of us have experienced as adults what it is to be alienated: alienated from God; alienated from Christianity. As those who have been loved by God, we need to remember where we were without Christ and have compassion for the lost.

To whom should that love be shown? Jesus usually answered such questions by responding, “your neighbor.” As an example of such neighborly activity, Jesus chose a Samaritan, whose people Jews despised. When many potential Jewish helpers had passed by their beaten countryman, it was a Samaritan who demonstrated love to him.

We should show our love and kindness to everyone without distinction. Strangers to the Lord live right next door to you and to your church. How about opening your doors to them? Hebrews 13:2 says, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels,” the word translated entertain has the basic idea of “having a special affection for strangers.”

Strangers to America from various ethnic backgrounds are on your street. Missionaries can understand how they feel. Can you? If so, treat them with love and compassion. Offer to be their guide to the culture and the neighborhood. Do they know English? Perhaps your church could start an English as a Second Language program to introduce these neighbors to the language, the church, new friends, and the Lord! Your interest in them, their culture, their families, and their fears will replace fears with friendship and longing with belonging. Remembering how we’ve been loved, let us learn to love our neighbors just as we do ourselves.