heart of a sojourner

You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
Exodus 23:9

God cares for those who are displaced or disenfranchised. The Israelites in Egypt were foreign workers who were eventually held as slaves. But always they were strangers in a land and culture not their own. And God wanted them to remember that in their dealings with foreigners who might live among them. They needed to remember their roots as well as honor God in recognition of their own unique deliverance.

A sojourner is a person who is displaced. They might be refugees. They might be aliens from a foreign land. They might be fleeing hardship legally or illegally. God told Israel to care and help... not turning a blind eye to people in such hardship. They too had once been in the same situation. God saw their trouble and had mercy on the nation. They should feel the same way to sojourners.

And I too am a sojourner of sorts. This world is not my soul's home. I am delivered to a better place, bound to that destination by Jesus' love, but am still am passing through my world. And as a sojourner myself, I should identify and care for cultural sojourners I see. There is more than just immigrant care or concern for displaced people at work in this principle. This is an act of grace as God's grace changes my heart to share His grace to hurting people.