How can we apply Job's example of welcoming strangers in our community? Anchor verse “but no stranger had to lodge on the street, for my door has been open to the traveler.” (Job 31:32) Seeing Job’s heart for the stranger • Job describes a consistent lifestyle, not a one-time gesture. • His home was a standing invitation; his door stayed “open,” not just occasionally unlatched. • He assumed personal responsibility—he did not wait for someone else to act. Why welcoming strangers matters • Genesis 18:2-5 – Abraham hurried to serve three unknown visitors; God met him there. • Leviticus 19:33-34 – “You are to treat the foreigner living among you as native-born and love him as yourself.” • Matthew 25:35 – Jesus equates receiving Him with receiving the stranger. • Hebrews 13:2 – Hospitality may host angels. • Romans 12:13 – “Practice hospitality.” The Greek implies pursuing it, not merely accepting it when convenient. Practical ways to live this out today Open your door • Keep an extra chair at the table on Sundays for someone new at church. • Host international students or visiting workers for holidays. • Offer short-term lodging to believers displaced by disasters or persecution. Open your table • Cook double and deliver half to a family that just moved in. • Coordinate a block-party potluck so neighbors meet each other. • Start a monthly “strangers’ lunch” after worship for first-time attenders. Open your talents • Provide airport rides, job-search help, language tutoring, or childcare. • Use handyman skills to repair a refugee family’s apartment. • Offer legal or medical expertise pro bono for those without networks. Open your wallet • Quietly pay a motel night for someone sleeping in a car. • Stock gift cards for gas or groceries to hand out when needs surface. • Support ministries that resettle refugees or aid the homeless. Guarding motives and boundaries • 1 Peter 4:9 – Show hospitality “without complaining”; guard against reluctant duty. • 2 John 10 – Exercise discernment; aid must never enable false teaching or harm. • Proverbs 4:23 – Keep your heart; serve from love, not from guilt or self-promotion. • Establish clear household guidelines when hosting to protect family safety and holiness. Growing a hospitable heart • Meditate on how Christ welcomed you when you were “far away” (Ephesians 2:12-13). • Remember your own past “foreignness” (Leviticus 19:34); gratitude fuels compassion. • Practice small, regular acts—hospitality is a muscle that strengthens with use. • Celebrate stories of God’s presence discovered through welcoming outsiders; testimony reinforces zeal. Encouragement to start today Scan your week for one margin of time, one empty seat, or one untapped resource and dedicate it to a stranger. With every opened door we mirror Job’s example and reflect the Savior who first opened His arms to us. |
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