Loving All

Loving All

Bible: Leviticus 19:33-34

The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself (V.34).

My church meets in a large, open field. There aren’t many big open spaces like this on the island of Singapore (we’re just twenty-five miles long and fifteen miles wide). Some time ago, people from abroad who work in my country started meeting on the church field for a picnic every Sunday.

There were a lot of different reactions to this from my church. Some worried about the mess the visitors would leave behind. But others saw this as a chance to spend time with a group of strangers—without even leaving the church grounds!

The Israelites must have faced similar issues in their time. After they settled in their new land, they had to work out how to deal with the surrounding nations. But God told them to not treat foreigners any differently to how they treated each other. They were to love them as themselves (LEV. 19:34). Many of His laws were specifically about foreigners: they were not to be hurt or hated, but they were to be loved and helped (EX. 23:9; DEUT. 10:19). Centuries later, Jesus tells us to do the same: to love
others as ourselves (MARK 12:31).

May we see others, including those who are different to us, with God’s love and welcome, remembering that we too are ‘foreigners’ and ‘strangers’ on this earth (PHIL. 3:20).

To Pray About…

Father, You have made each and every one of us in Your image. May we love the people we meet and reach out to them with Your love.

ENJOYING GOD’S LOVE FOR US IS THE KEY TO LOVING OTHERS.

Youth Edition – Our Daily Bread Ministries