Love Leads Us Home

Study 6 – LAW - Leviticus 19:34 But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt Love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God. Strangers. Don't we all feel that way at times. Having traveled to other countries I know what it is like to feel like a foreigner where I didn't speak the language or know the culture. In the European countries I visited, I learned some people are more friendly than others. Some were welcoming and understanding when we couldn't order off a menu or only could communicate through a translator. Others treated us rudely and with impatience. I was told that in one country, they at least want you to have respect enough for their country to try to speak their language. I was met with their scowl because I knew not even one word of their language. In this verse we are told to Love those who dwell among us even if they may not have been born among us. Seems simple to me! There is some place every day where we feel like we don't belong. Sometimes it can be in a crowd. Sometimes it can be in our workplace. Sometimes it can be among friends. Sometimes it can be among family. Sometimes it can be when we're all alone and may not know who we are anymore. The fact is we all feel foreign in some way or another. What we look for are people who will reach out to us and accept us even if we seem a bit strange to them. Even if we don't speak their language literally or figuratively. There is nothing worse than being around others where you don't quite fit in. You're an onlooker, an observer, an outsider. Don't you think God understands that feeling and is asking us to not perpetuate it by treating others that way? When we pass that person in the store or on the street; or look at our kids or parents and wonder who in the world they are or have become; or even look in the mirror and no longer recognize the reflection we see - we are simply seeing a stranger that needs to be loved. When we think of an immigrant? What is our reaction? We build little circles or surround ourselves with people who look just like us, so we don't feel quite so different. Yet, we still can't avoid that feeling. We will often reject those who try to break into our groups. I think churches are often the guiltiest of making people feel that way sometimes. I can say that because I’ve spent my whole life seeing it in action. I’ve been embraced and offered a circle of acceptance. I’ve seen circles close ranks to keep me out of their clique. When you go through a life-changing experience, you can often see the circle narrow. I’ve seen the circle close tightly when another ethnicity was seeking entrance. When you don’t fit the mold of whatever the group thinks are appropriate, you may not be accepted in a church setting. The song, “Does Anybody Hear Her,” (Vevo, 2009) describes this well. In fifth grade, I had a circle of three friends in addition to myself. We had another person who wanted to come into our group. We were truly us four and no more. We were the four musketeers with no room for a fifth. To keep her away, we tried to be mean. We asked our Spanish librarian what the equivalent of pig face would be? It would have been cara de puerco. However, she told us it was cara rosada. All year, as she approached, we would say those words to her. The librarian was very wise. All year we called her rose face. The librarian told her we were calling her a term of endearment, which made her try even harder to be included within our group. It's hard to be an outsider! I think where I find the most security is with my children. They are a part of me - they are an expression of everything I've ever done and been, good or bad. I have their entire history in my brain which is a point of reference to accept who they are because of the road they've traveled. It is often why I think parental Love is unconditional Love (isn't God's Love for us just that?). We should be a family. We should be able to laugh, cry, yell, and all the things in between but ultimately when we're together - we should be accepted - no longer foreigners in a strange land. Love is the key that opens a room within our heart, while rejection locks someone out.