A Christian Call to Welcome the Stranger in an Age of Fear
In times marked by fear and division, God’s people are tempted to draw tight circles—our people, our culture, our comfort. Scripture consistently interrupts that instinct with a clear command: welcome the stranger. Christian hospitality is not social politeness or political signaling; it is love made visible, rooted in God’s character and extended especially to those who feel out of place.
Foreigners and immigrants arrive for many reasons—work, study, safety, or family—and often carry grief, disorientation, and fear of rejection. The church has a sacred opportunity to respond differently: to become a community where the label outsider does not last, and where the grace we have received in Christ is tangibly shared.
God’s Heart for the Foreigner
From the beginning, God bound faithfulness to Him with compassion for the vulnerable. Because Israel once lived as strangers in Egypt, God commanded them to resist cruelty and mirror His mercy. “You shall love the stranger as yourself” (Lev. 19:33–34). God Himself “loves the sojourner” and calls His people to do the same (Deut. 10:18–19).
Scripture repeatedly places the foreigner at the center of redemption. Ruth, a Moabite immigrant, becomes part of God’s covenant people and the lineage of Christ. Jesus identifies Himself with the stranger—“I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matt. 25:35)—and Hebrews warns believers not to neglect hospitality (Heb. 13:2). Together, these texts leave little room for indifference: welcoming the stranger is a measure of faithfulness to God.
Hospitality and the Gospel
Christians welcome foreigners because we remember who we were. Apart from Christ, we were strangers to God’s promises, brought near only by grace. God did not keep His distance; He moved toward us, made room for us, and called us family.
When the church withholds welcome from those who feel foreign or unwanted, it contradicts the gospel it proclaims. Hospitality is not an optional virtue—it is one of the ways the gospel becomes visible in everyday life.
Practicing Faithful Welcome
Christian hospitality does not require heroism, only faithfulness. It begins with small, intentional acts:
- Initiating conversation and learning names
- Offering ordinary friendship and shared meals
- Listening with patience rather than curiosity-driven interrogation
- Helping navigate everyday systems and routines
- Honoring cultural difference without fear or judgment
- Shaping church spaces that are accessible, explained, and inclusive
Hospitality requires wisdom and boundaries, but it always requires movement toward the other. It may involve small acts of faithfulness, or large acts such as rushing food, medicine, and other aid to those in crisis.
Facing Common Obstacles
Fear, busyness, and prejudice often hinder hospitality. Scripture calls believers to replace suspicion with love, inconvenience with sacrifice, and pride with repentance. Jesus made room for us when it cost Him everything; we are called to follow Him in smaller, but real, ways. This is true for the stranger to our church, as well as for the stranger to our country. American Christians failed miserably in our response to the humanitarian crisis on our Southern border in recent years. Instead of love, compassion, and aid to refugees fleeing violence and persecution, many American Christians reacted with fear, with cruelty, and with hate. This is true even though most of the refugees were themselves Christians. One wonders if American Christians would have responded differently if the Christian refugees had been light-skinned Europeans?
Conclusion
Hospitality toward foreigners is not a side issue for Christians—it is one of the clearest ways the church bears witness to the welcome of God. As fear tempts us to withdraw, Christ calls His people to move toward the stranger instead. The question is not whether strangers will come among us, but whether they will encounter the welcome of Christ when they do.
Dr. Beaux Bonhoeffer
Find me also @beauxbonhoeffer.bsky.social and at beauxbonhoeffer.substack.com