Today, we teach even our children to stay away from strangers. We have a global initiative that states, “stranger danger. “ These ideas pour over into our church communities. In many churches, the members do not seem to venture outside of their comfort zones. When we do not entertaining the people God sent to our church we miss our blessings. I wonder how many times God sent a stranger into my presents and I missed the word that he wanted me to hear.
What are some reasons for this type of behavior? Perhaps, people don’t feel the need to build more relationships. Some folks, would rather stick to just their inner circle. Maybe, they think the strangers are very strange individuals or their personalities do not match. Sometimes, people back away from people that are socially awkward or say inappropriate things.
Modern strangers can be described as individuals who are just different or do not fit in with the norm. The modern stranger doesn’t even have to be from a foreign land. We stereotypically group people according to their personalities, stage of life, or more importantly their perspectives. Ones that do not fit in or simply that rub you the wrong way are the most common modern strangers.
These poor definitions of strangers do not meet godly principles. We are to come together in one accord. The goal of the Christian is to be transformed into a spiritual being with the indwelling of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will not stay where where evilness exists. Scripture tells us that Jesus entertained strangers. In Luke 24:15, there were two men walking on the road of the Emmaus and Jesus was the stranger. if the two men did not entertain the stranger they would’ve missed out on the greatest friend of their life time-Jesus Christ.
We also find in Hebrews 13:2 that we may never know if we entertained angels. Finally, what about all the scriptures that tells us to treat each other as we would like to be treated?
Welcoming a stranger into the church community fosters transformation of Christians. In the very beginning of the scripture Abraham and Sarah extended their hospitality to three strangers and it worked well for them. When we have a Godly encounter with a Stranger leads us to what God has to tell us through that individual. Welcoming the stranger opens us up to a new presence with Christ.
