When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 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.
Leviticus 19:33-34
What is God telling Israel to do with this command and what light does it shed on Christians living in a complex society right now? This is a stern reminder rooted in God’s covenant with His people as the last phrase invokes God’s covenant-keeping name. Loving immigrants as neighbors that were to be loved with the standard “love your neighbor as yourself” is what is being declared here (Leviticus 19:18). Immigrants are neighbors. Neighbors are to be loved like yourself. There was to be no differentiation in care for people who came to live among God’s people peacefully. They were to be welcomed, protected, and given all due process of law.
Why was this the standard? Because Israel’s history had them at one time living as immigrants temporarily in Egypt. Treating foreigners in their own land well reminded the Jews of their own past and all that the Lord had done for them. Treating foreigners well was an act of worship and obedience. And in a sense they were identifying with immigrants and foreigners as people God made and placed in their care.
How does this translate into Christian love today? The New Testament is full of examples and calls to hospitality, literally “stranger-love”. And like Israel out of Egypt, Christians must adopt a sojourner mindset. This world is not our home. We should love all people. We should not fear foreigners or act hatefully toward immigrants. We should love them as Jesus loves them. We should love them as ourselves. We should speak out if they are done wrong, treated inhumanely, or marginalized by unjust treatment. We should share Jesus and our lives with all people generously because here is the truth: we are all equally sojourners here on earth!
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