I WAS A STRANGER

 

Matthew 25:35 (NIV)
I was a stranger and you invited me in,

               We are experiencing a crisis in our country as those who have the power have decided to use it against those who do not. Immigrants and people of color have become a target for unfair and illegal practices. This has been going on with the full approval of our government. It is not right!

               I have struggled with how to address this issue. I have been praying fervently for an end to the abuses and the removal of those who are perpetrating them. But I feel compelled also to speak out in support of the stranger among us.

               Many years ago, God laid on my heart Matthew 25:31-46; the parable of the sheep and the goats.

Matthew 25:31-46 (NIV)
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
³⁴ "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

               The part the grabbed me was, I was a stranger and you invited me in. At the time, I was serving a church in a university town. The university had a growing number of international students attending there. God laid it on my heart to begin an outreach to those “strangers” among us. For almost 30 years we actively tried to be a welcoming presence for the internationals in our community. It was one of the most enriching parts of our ministry.

               Today, I am seeing the foundations of what we helped to build being eroded by the actions of our government. Instead of inviting the stranger in we are expelling them. It is a direct contradiction to Jesus’ words. Unfortunately, many people who call themselves Christians are lining up behind what the government is doing. I am not one of them.

               The Apostle Paul tells us that the history of Israel has been recorded as an example for us to learn from. Israel was specifically forbidden to take advantage of the alien among them. "Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt. But they failed to listen to God’s command. If we look back carefully at the actions of ancient Israel, what we see is an abuse of aliens and strangers. Because of that, God unleashed His wrath on Israel, eventually resulting in their exile for their land.

               I can say, without qualification, that God is not pleased with the course of action our government is taking. I don’t know what action God will take in response to this abuse, but I fear we will all suffer for it if we do not repent and change course.

               As private citizens, we often feel powerless to effect what goes on at the higher levels of our government. Outside of choosing who we will vote into office, we are left to watch the results. But we have a God who is not powerless. The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases. Proverbs 21:1 (NIV) When His people truly humble themselves and seek His help, He always responds. It may feel like our prayers are powerless, but they are not.

               For whatever reason, God has allowed the current government to be in place. We can argue all we want about that, but ultimately God is in control of those who are in control. There are many things that are wrong with the direction our nation was headed before the current President took office. But the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction; much to our detriment. God may be allowing us to reap the consequences of our own choices.

               But the good news is that God is a God of grace. He rebukes, not to destroy, but to redeem. I believe that God is in the process of purifying His people. It is painful, but necessary. He is calling us to forsake our love affair with political power (whichever side of the equation we are on) and to return to allegiance to Him alone. As follows of Christ, we are called to be salt and light in a dark and decaying world. We cannot do that by embracing the ways and means of that dark and decaying world. We can do that only as we draw near to Christ and seek to live out His values in our world.

1 Peter 2:9-12 (NIV)
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

               In the parable of the sheep and the goats, the defining factor was not what people claimed to be, but what they demonstrated by their actions. When you did this to the least of these brothers of mine you did it to me. We will ultimately be judged not by what political banner we wave, but by how we lived out our faith in practical, loving, compassionate, and gracious ways.

Psalms 146:1-10 (NIV)
Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul.
I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them-- the LORD, who remains faithful forever.
He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD.