Help and Compassion for the Stranger

Scripture everywhere shows concerns for the stranger among us. The Old Testament lays down laws regarding care and hospitality , the New Testament speaks of compassion, and Jesus' parables teach concern for the stranger. Recently I read of a stranger looking for a church in a new community. She tells of looking for nonexistent directional signs, of having to interrupt greeters busy talking to one another, and of other indications that the church was simply not "tuned in" to the seeking stranger. Do we show God's concern for the stranger in our churches and in other areas of our lives as well? Someone who moves in next door or someone just coming onto the job beside us...Can you feel their loneliness, isolation, and confusion? Let's really enter into God's concerns for the stranger among us - at church; in our neighborhood; at work. You never know the depths of loneliness and separation they may be feeling. You can help them feel Christ's compassion and concern through you and your actions.