– Exodus 22
Stranger Danger
Do you remember the you that you were before the you that you are become you? C'mon . . . you can do it . . . think hard and take a trip down "Bad-Memory-Lane" . . . it'll just take a second or two for you to realize that you were a stranger living a strange life in a strange land. But if you're like me . . . you're MUCH better now!
Sometimes, especially if we've been Christians for a while, we can forget what it was like to be a cussing, cheating, smoking, lying, thieving, carousing, I'm in it for me, kind of "normal" nut case. OK, OK, at first-glance not all non-believers are nut cases. But if you remember the normal that you thought was normal before you understood the difference between God's normal and the world's normal, well . . . I think you'll agree that the world's normal is down-right nutty and twisted. So . . . we can forget what it was like, and if we're not careful, we can be pretty judgmental and even look down in that Holier-than-Thou, self-righteous, religious, not-very-Christ-like attitude towards the people who need our help the most. We can become one of THOSE Christians that cause non-believers to RUN AWAY, RUN AWAY, like a character from a Monty Python movie.
So in this scripture, God is on Mt. Sinai handing the Israelites His list of Do's and Do Nots, and He tells them to remember . . . remember their burdens, remember their chains of captivity, remember the things that kept them in bondage, and especially remember how it felt to be living as an un-welcomed guest in the land that most of them were born and raised in. He wanted them to remember that feeling of never measuring up, and having to avert their eyes in shame; having to watch as the upper class enjoyed the finer things in life while they struggled to make sense of their lives.
God wanted them to be mindful of their past because He was about to bless them as His chosen people, but He also knew that people are fickle, and that pride is a tricky thing. It causes us to look down when we should be looking up; to thumb our noses when we should be lending a helping hand; to make snide remarks when we should be edifying and exhorting and praising God for His grace and His mercy. As His people we need to be especially mindful of the strangers in our midst – those who don't know the Lord, or who are seeking but uninformed. We need to show the love of Christ, not the condemnation of religion so that we can attract people to the faith instead of making them shake their heads in unbelief.
So remember your chains! Remember the sheer weight of them and the feel of them dragging behind you. Remember, so that you can show compassion. Remember so that you can appreciate your normal now. Remember them so that in you, Christ is revealed to a stranger who needs so badly to see Him in the midst of the nut-case normal they're trying to live . . . without Him.
Prayer
Father thank You for reminding us to remember where we came from. Help us to always be mindful and thankful of the life that we now have in You. Forgive us for the times when we let religion and pride control us. We go forward with You and in You so that through You we can reveal Your love to someone who really needs to know the beauty of Your normal.
Have a blessed day everyone!
– Richard
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