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Q1. Loving the Aliens in our Midst


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I find that older people fear those that are different from themselves. It is a learned habit passed down through the generations. They do not have the ability not to judge a book by its cover. My grandparents were notorious for this type of thinking. They judged everyone on a standard that was close to themselves. Nothing could ever be different.

 

I feel that we need to get to know more about other people. I feel that the internet had made this more possible. We are no longer immobile to visit other lands. It does not take a passport to read about others.

 

I feel that churches need to open their doors and hearts to all people. We need to find common ground. We need to dismiss those things that are different in people. We need to unite all people who believe in God and Jesus. 

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  • 4 years later...

Q1. (Isaiah 49:1-13) Why do people tend to disregard or even discriminate against aliens in their country? Because they are not native and often seen as second class citizens.

How can you increase your love for people of other nationalities? They are God's children and my brothers sisters, Jesus says that we should treat our neighbour as our own.

God's people are called to be a "light to the nations." What might that entail for the church in your community? By friending, caring for and discipling all people of all nations for God's glory.

 

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  • 2 years later...

Every society has an ethos, a set of values and expectations that allow society to cohere and become "a people." When aliens come to a land while denying the ethos of those who live in their homeland, their presence weakens the social fabric that had once allowed that particular society to cohere and function smoothly. 

We must love those who could be aliens by helping them maintain and stay in their own homeland. We must help them not be aliens, which is incredibly difficult and painful, but residents in their own homelands. In this way we can be light and salt. Generosity to others in their homelands is the cure for political and material alienation.

But more than material goods, they need to hear the gospel. We must send missionaries and other people to lands which may tear apart and create an exodus of aliens. They need to hear the good news. 

The good news isn't entering in a country that's considered more prosperous than one's own -- the good news is salvation from sin, not poverty. God promises to meet our daily needs. He doesn't promise that we'll be as wealthy as our neighbors and specifically condemns envy and dishonest behavior.

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  • 1 year later...

Q1. (Isaiah 49:1-13) Why do people tend to disregard or even discriminate against aliens in their country?
People discriminate against aliens in their country because they fear them. They ways are unknown and they look different and also speak a different language.

How can you increase your love for people of other nationalities?

By getting to know them, talking to them and learn their stories. What caused them to leave their homeland to come to a new place. Help them feel welcomed and if possible help them navigate in this new land.

God’s people are called to be a “light to the nations.” What might that entail for the church in your community?

Helping those in need whether through prayer, or assistance with their basic needs.

In your country? 

Helping people in countries that are in distress, lightening the load for them. Loving them like God loves us. 

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  • 1 month later...

Q1.Very often I think it is through ignorance and fear of the unknown. Also parents have a big responsibility here to teach their children that because people are from a different culture and their skin is a different colour to our skin, that they are human beings just like us and we must treat then as we would expect to be treated. To God we are all the same everyone is equal to everyone else. Also in both Leviticus and Deuteronomy we are instructed to treat aliens or those looking for safety with respect and dignity. 
If we have strangers in our area we should try to get to know them and help them in any way we can. By doing this we realise that they are very similar to us and their needs and desires are very similar to ours.

As a church we should reach out to asylum seekers and try to help by befriending them and helping them as best we can. We can also stand up for them when people try to discriminate against them. 

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  • 5 weeks later...

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