“Love your stranger as yourself.” That’s a paraphrase of Leviticus 19:34, “You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” God’s people were taught not just to say “hi” to strangers in their midst, nor just to share a friendly chat with outsiders, but to love them!
This same message echoes into the New Testament. Did you know that the Greek word for “hospitality” combines the terms “stranger” and “love”? Hospitality is more than serving refreshments (as nice as that is!): it means opening your schedule and your home and your heart to strangers in our midst—like those who visit GBC each week, like the neighborhood moms and dads who bring their kids to Awana or Preschool, like displaced flood victims, and like refugees who’ve had to flee their homeland.
Hebrews 13:1-2 teaches us to “Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” Notice that these two commands are on equal footing: it’s just as urgent for Christians to practice hospitality by loving strangers as it is for us to love each other. As the church gathered (e.g., on Sunday mornings) and as the church scattered (i.e., when we’re at home, work, school, etc.), we’re called to love strangers and sojourners.
If you think of it, the gospel itself is the saving hospitality of God toward us. He took us in even though we’d been “far off” and separated from him (Eph. 2:13). And our hospitality relays his love: “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matt. 10:8). So let’s put up our “stranger radar” and have a heart for outsiders. If you have a sense of belonging here at Goshen, that’s great. But some don’t, and they need your love to feel at home! So let hospitality abound in our groups and classes and worship services and social gatherings: “Love your stranger as yourself.”
