God's Heart for Foreigners

Across the world today, millions of people live far from the place they once called home. War, conflict, persecution, economic hardship, and instability have forced families to migrate in search of safety and hope for their children. As global migration increases, communities everywhere are changing. New languages, cultures, and stories now live among us. In moments like these, it can be tempting to let political rhetoric, media narratives, or public opinion shape how we feel about immigrants, refugees, international students, and others who live far from their homeland. As followers of Jesus, however, our convictions must come first from Scripture.

Regardless of our personal opinions about political policy anywhere in the world, God’s Word speaks clearly about how His people are called to respond to those who are far from home.

What Scripture Teaches

Throughout the Bible, God consistently reveals His heart for the foreigner. Depending on the translation, Scripture uses words such as aliens, sojourners, foreigners, and strangers more than one hundred times. These words describe people who live outside their homeland and depend on the hospitality and justice of others.

In the book of Deuteronomy alone, God commands His people to love foreigners, provide for their physical needs, include them in worship and community life, and share God’s Word with them. God roots these commands in Israel’s own story. They once lived as foreigners in Egypt. God redeemed them, cared for them, and brought them home. He calls His people to extend that same compassion to others.

The story of Ruth offers a powerful example. Ruth, a foreigner from Moab, chose to remain with Naomi and follow the God of Israel. She declared, “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” Through love, faithfulness, and welcome, Ruth encountered the living God and became part of His redemptive story.

God’s concern for the foreigner continues throughout the New Testament. Jesus teaches that loving God and loving our neighbor stand at the center of faith. He then defines neighbor in unexpected ways, pointing to the Samaritan, the outsider, the one who does not belong. Jesus consistently demonstrated God’s love for the foreigner by healing Gentiles, engaging Samaritans, praising the faith of Roman centurions, and welcoming those society often overlooked.

At Pentecost, the first people to hear the wonders of God proclaimed in their own languages were foreigners living in Jerusalem. In Acts, Scripture declares that God created all nations from one man and determined where people would live so that they might seek Him and find Him. Migration, movement, and displacement never fall outside God’s sovereign purposes.

Scripture reminds us that all of us were once strangers to God’s promises. Through Jesus, God welcomed us, reconciled us, and made us citizens of His kingdom. That same grace now shapes how we live toward others.

An Invitation to See Missions Differently

What if, alongside sending missionaries and going to the ends of the earth, we also make a habit of welcoming and sharing the love of Christ with the many foreigners and diaspora peoples coming to our own countries. These individuals often maintain deep connections with family and communities back home. Through ongoing relationships, technology, and eventual return, the gospel can spread naturally among their own people.

This pattern reflects the experience of the early church. In the first century, the gospel spread rapidly from Jerusalem to many Gentile nations because Jerusalem itself was a multicultural city. Diaspora peoples from every nation lived there, heard the gospel proclaimed, and carried it with them into the world. Today, many cities resemble that same reality. They serve as cultural, economic, and religious crossroads where people from across the globe now live side by side.

Immigrants, refugees, and international students arrive in large numbers from locations around the world, including places where access to the gospel remains limited. This reality presents a remarkable opportunity to share the good news with people from unreached people groups and others who have never heard the name of Christ. Missions has truly become from everywhere to everywhere.

The Power of Welcome

The first weeks and months in a new culture often shape how people view their new country and the people within it. Just as relationships formed at the beginning of a new season of life can become lifelong friendships, this same dynamic often unfolds among those who have recently arrived in a new place.

Followers of Jesus have a unique opportunity to offer welcome during this vulnerable season. Believers can greet newcomers at the airport, help them adjust to daily life, invite them into their homes, share meals, help them learn English, explain cultural norms, and walk alongside them as friends. Through these simple and faithful acts, Christians can embody the love of Christ in tangible ways. This kind of hospitality leaves a lasting impression on individuals and families when they feel most uncertain and alone. In welcoming the stranger, we reflect the gospel that first welcomed us.

God often works through ordinary obedience. When we choose presence over fear and hospitality over distance, we participate in His redemptive work. As the nations come to us, God invites His people to respond with love, humility, and faithfulness.

Reflection

Welcoming others is not a replacement for global missions. It is an extension of it. When we open our lives to those far from home, we create space for the gospel to take root and travel farther than we could ever go on our own.

Prayer Point

Pray that God would shape our hearts to reflect His compassion for people living far from home. Ask Him to help us see immigrants, refugees, and international students as neighbors to love, not problems to solve. Pray for courage, wisdom, and grace to live out Christ’s love through hospitality and faithful presence.

Reflection Question

Who are the people living far from home in your community, and how might God be inviting you to welcome them in ways that reflect His love?

*This article summarizes and focuses on principles and teachings provided by Global Frontier Missions. You can find their video and study about God’s Heart for Foreigners and Ways to Welcome Internationals, and other resources on their website.*

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