The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God. -Leviticus 19:34 (NIV)
In an earlier post, I touched on the November 2015 ISIS attacks in Paris, where over 100 were killed, and hundreds more wounded.
Of the suspects in the attack, one had a Syrian passport, and so many in the world went into a knee-jerk, human response of condemning all Syrians as terrorists, and wanting to close borders to Syrian refugees.
And yet, just months earlier, the world felt deep sympathy and compassion for Syrian refugees when a toddler washed up on the shores of Turkey.
And some professed Christians were not immune to these ebbs and flows of public opinion, which are largely steered by curated communication from media outlets.
Especially during trying times, we believers have the opportunity, privilege, and duty to show God’s love. His love is constant and not conditional on spiritual performance or merit. And as walking ambassadors of His love here on earth, we don’t have to get caught up in the world’s inconsistent positions on who is worthy, and who should be judged.
Let us never forget that we are not of this world, and we are passing through on our way to the next. And just as God’s people are often strangers in a strange land, as are we on this earth…and we are called to love as He loves us. Our work to do in the Great Commission is to make Him known to all the corners of the earth…and how can we do that without showing His love?
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