Loving the Alien

Punishments for Sin Under Law

Read Leviticus 20:7-27 

“When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”

Reflection: Loving the Alien

1. Have you ever felt like an alien because of your love for Christ?
2. Have you ever treated someone like an alien because they didn’t look, dress or behave as you do? How has this devotional changed your mind and heart?
3. Who in your sphere of influence is alienated from God? How can you apply the Golden Rule to help them see God in a new Light?

Fortunately, I have never been discriminated against as a Christian. I think this is something that we have taken for granted in America because we have such a freedom to practice as God leads us. This could be very different if we lived in another part of the world. Thank God that we are able to be unapologetically Christian in this country. I have recently become a surrogate mother to a girl in our neighborhood. She goes to school with my children and is often unsupervised for hours. I have found this disturbing. Her mother is not on drugs, she is just oblivious that sometimes parenting requires undivided attention. The girl is a handfull; she talks non-stop and constantly craves attention. She has a smart mouth and has never learned any manners.  My first inclination is to turn away from her; send her home each time she gets out of line. This devotional has made me look at her differently. She craves attention because she has never had any. She doesn't have any manners becasue she has never been taught any. Instead of being one more grown up who judges her for being out of place, perhaps I can make a difference in her life. I was just about to give up on her and tell her to stay at home, but when I consider the alternative, I just can't do it. I recently talked to her about personal safety, doing homework, hygeine and minding your manners when you are a guest in other people's homes. My husband told her that she can come over after school but only after she has informed an adult of her whereabouts and that she has to bring her school work to participate in study time. She has eaten with us for the past three days instead of, as she says , having Pop Tarts for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  We read daily about children becoming statistics, kidnapped, dropping out of school, becoming unwed mothers. Maybe if they hadn't been treated as aliens by every adult in their life, things would have been different. What I have learned from this devotional is that it is easy to treat people kindly when they are the same as us; the difficulty arises when they are aliens. If I was to go to a different country, church, city, planet; if I became an alien, I hope that someone would treat me as their native born. Thank you God for giving us The Law, by which we know what is required of us to be saved.