Title: Love the stranger / Deuteronomy 10:19
We are all strangers. They are strangers who have left their hometowns and relatives' fathers' homes. Abraham, the father of faith, was also a stranger, and Moses, the leader of the nation of Israel, was also a stranger. Jesus was also a stranger from heaven, and the Apostle Paul was also a stranger who left his hometown and relatives. I am a stranger who left North Korea and came down to South Korea when I was 11 years old. In search of freedom of religion, he came down to South Korea alone, leaving his parents and siblings in North Korea.
There are inconveniences, loneliness, hardships, and fears in the life of a stranger. However, humans learn what life is like while living as a stranger. You will also understand other people. You can even seek God. You can look to God, and you can trust and love God. The Israelites also learned what life is like while living as strangers in Babylon and Assyria, and they came to know who God is. The ancestors of the United States, who formed America, also learned what life is like while living as strangers and came to know who God is.
You are now living as strangers. There will be inconveniences, loneliness, hardships, and fears in your life. But the sojourner is the path of life. There is no need to think strangely and no need to feel resentful. As you live as strangers, your character will be strengthened and your faith will be strengthened. David confessed this while living a life of suffering as a stranger. "It is good for me to be afflicted"
There is one thing that gives the traveler the greatest comfort. It is a fact that God loves the stranger. He said that God loves strangers and gives them food. "He loves the stranger and gives him food and clothing." Jesus especially loved the strangers, comforted them, and showed them grace. He showed grace to a man who became a prostitute while living as a stranger, showed grace to a Samaritan woman who had failed in marriage while living as a stranger, and showed grace to a foreign woman who suffered from a hemorrhagic disease while living as a stranger.
There is a word from God to those of us who are living as strangers. It's telling you to love yourself. "You love the stranger." Some people may be sojourners, get a house, build a family, and lead a stable life. Even to such people, God says: “Love the strangers, for you were also strangers before.” While living as strangers, we can blame each other and complain to each other. There was a time when the Israelites resented each other and complained to each other while living as strangers. We may envy, hate, fight, and even slander each other. I told you not to grumble and complain like that. That's wrong. Travelers must love each other. We need to understand each other, embrace each other, share with each other, help each other, and love each other. Of course, love is not easy. But love is the most precious thing. Love is joy and love is happiness. We have neither the power to love ourselves nor the power to love ourselves. As we look at the cross of Jesus, who came to this world as a stranger and loved us, we can love each other little by little.