Strangers – Making a difference one at a time.

How do you react to strangers? This morning’s topic makes me remember how many people thought I knew everyone at Microsoft. I knew that wasn’t true in a company of over 100,000 people. Sure I happened to know people within my network but I didn’t know everyone. I would mention how I may not know everyone, but if someone came around the corner I would probably introduce myself to them and then I would know them. It’s the antidote to strangers, making them known. Sometimes I would joke with people when they were talking about strangers when I would ask them “how do you teach your kids not to talk to strangers when you don’t think there is anyone stranger than you?” A Facebook post this morning where someone commented about how we should respond or act:
“1. An alone person in our gathering is an emergency
2. Friends can wait
3. Introduce a newcomer to someone else“

Welcoming the Stranger

In a world that can feel increasingly disconnected, the call to welcome the stranger is more urgent than ever. Hebrews 13:2 reminds us, “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” This verse teaches us that every stranger is an opportunity to reflect God’s love. When a father models this behavior, he demonstrates to his children the importance of kindness and hospitality. Introducing yourself to a newcomer can break down barriers and make someone feel seen and valued.

Key Takeaway: Welcoming strangers is essential to Christian hospitality, reflecting God’s love and grace to those who may feel isolated.

Practical Application: Make welcoming new people a family practice, whether at church, school or in the neighborhood. Show your children the importance of being inclusive and kind to others by leading through example.

The Power of Connection

The Bible emphasizes the importance of community and connection, which includes how we treat those we don’t know. In Matthew 25:35, Jesus says, ‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.’ This passage highlights the direct link between serving others and serving Christ. Let’s be the dads who teach our children to see Christ in others, especially strangers to help them develop a deep sense of empathy and responsibility.

Key Takeaway: Treating strangers with kindness is a direct way to serve Christ and fulfill God’s command to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Practical Application: Encourage your family to participate in acts of service, such as volunteering at shelters or community events, where they can meet and help strangers. This involvement will help them build new connections and strengthen their faith

The Legacy of Hospitality

Proverbs 19:17 tells us, “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.” Extending kindness to strangers isn’t just about the immediate impact; it’s about creating a legacy of love and hospitality that your children will carry into their own families. When you take the time to introduce yourself to someone new, you’re not just making a momentary connection—you’re teaching your children to value people, to see the image of God in everyone, and to act with compassion.

Key Takeaway: Kindness toward strangers makes a lasting impact, teaching children to value others and to actively live out their faith.

Practical Application: Make it a habit to talk with your children about the people they meet and encourage them to look for ways to be kind and welcoming, even in small interactions.

Strangers No More

The biblical call to welcome strangers goes beyond a mere moral obligation; it offers a chance to embody the gospel in our daily lives. Teaching our children to embrace newcomers and show kindness not only impacts others but also transforms our families into reflections of God’s love. As fathers, our response to strangers sets an example for our households and leaves a legacy capable of changing the world, one introduction at a time.

Topic: WAYFARING STRANGERS

Verse: Proverbs 4:11

'I instruct you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. '

Let’s be the dads who go from being readers and hearers of the Word to doers. Let’s look for ways to live our lives in the way of wisdom and along straight paths. We can’t just have the knowledge of right and wrong but rather we need to choose to live our lives up to God’s higher calling.

Strangers still need help getting where they need to go

Today’s devotional kicks off with a story of an interpreter who noticed that people were needing tourist guides or insights to help them know where to go and what to see when they travel. In particular it speaks of Eugene Fodor who put together a guidebook for them name Fodor’s travel guides. It goes on to speak about the comparison between reading the guidebook and experiencing the locations. It compares how the book can explain things like “Westminster Abbey or the Great Wall of China” but the words on the page don’t do justice to actually being there and getting to see and experience them.

Today’s devotional then goes on to compare the tourist guidebook to the Word of God. It shares how “we can see how we should walk, where we should go, how we should live, and what we should be. But no amount of cramming will actually get us there.” Today’s devotional then compares grace to “a trip to heaven with all expenses paid.”

Go beyond just hearing but doing what God says

We are challenged today to be the dads who “don’t just look at the pictures and read the text.” We need Jesus to “bring it alive in our lives.” Let’s be the dads who grab a hold of the reality that Jesus “has come that we might have life, and that we might have it more abundantly!”

“Leader of faithful souls, and guide of all who travel to the sky, come, and with us, even us, abide, who would on Thee alone rely.”

CHARLES WESLEY