Loving Others

Exodus 22:21-27

"Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt. Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan." (v. 21-22)

I remember growing up being teased for being Asian. I remember the children teasing by mimicking the sounds of the spoken language, and slanting their eyes to ridicule our looks. It was harsh growing up in a different land as it was while learning a new language, but to be teased about it really hurt. However, I learned to just accept and ignore the teasing. As I grew older, I came to realize that in most circumstances, people teased because they did not understand Asians and/or did not know how o be around us. As they continued their teasing, I continued to ignore it and in some cases tried to educate our differences.

As some realized that we had more similarities than differences, and was especially impressed by my attitude, we began to establish a friendship. In other cases, the teasing would begin to decline since it wasn't as much fun as it was previously. I believe the situation improved because I did not retaliate or attempt to make fun of them. I didn't have to like what they did, but I had to accept the circumstance and especially who they were.

Similarly, we must do the same as Christians. When we become sons and daughters, we should be proud to be part of the family. However, we should not boast about it, especially because we had very little to do with it. We should not point out other people's sin and/or treat non-Christians as if they were any lesser than us. We should never accept or like the sins of men, but we need to love them just as Christ loved us before we accepted Him and continues to love us. As we show love (and not compromise the fundamentals), then we will most likely to win hearts, and not turn them further away against the truth and love of Christ. After all, we were all sinners, and Christ won hearts through His compassion, grace, and love.