God’s Heart For The Strangers – by Bermie Dizon

Sometimes people ask me who my favorite child is. Of course, I love all my children equally. However, there are times when this love is misunderstood.

Let me explain. As a parent of four children, when one of them is in pain or crisis, it’s not difficult for my wife and me to focus on the one who is suffering. This special attention does not mean we love our other children any less. It simply means that the child in need requires our immediate care. In the same way, I believe Jesus consistently gives priority to those who are hurting, alienated, and without much hope.

Throughout God’s story, those on the margins are central to His love and concern. Some may react strongly to the idea that God might have an exclusive love for certain people. But just as I love all my children, the Bible tells us that God is our Father, and John 3:16 makes it clear that God cares for all humanity—no exceptions, no favoritism.

I find it significant that Jesus entered the world as a Galilean Jew. God could have chosen to incarnate Himself among the religious or political elites, but instead, He chose to come into the world as part of a marginalized group. Born to a teenage mother, Mary, and her fiancé, Joseph, who had to flee their home to escape persecution, Jesus’ early life mirrors the struggles faced by many today. They experienced the scandal, the uncertainty of displacement, and the difficulty of finding shelter.

If you are familiar with the Gospels, you will see that Jesus’ ministry consistently centers on those who are marginalized: the widow, the lame, the poor, the stranger, and the rejected. Interestingly, when He ministers to the rich and powerful, like Zacchaeus, He points them toward a redemptive path that includes making things right with the poor. Jesus’ mission was not one of condemnation but of salvation, as stated in John 3:17: “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”

Jesus also sends us into the world to make disciples, never to condemn but to be part of God’s saving and redemptive work.

His teachings emphasize the importance of including those on the margins. When you host a feast, Jesus says, invite the outsiders, the broken, and the sinful. The kingdom of God is like a banquet for those who are usually left out. The question for us is, “Do we live this out?”

In Matthew 25, Jesus makes a powerful statement: when we care for the neglected, rejected, and marginalized, we are caring for Him. Jesus laid down His life at Golgotha, a place outside the city gates where criminals were executed, to show that no one is beyond redemption. He sacrificed not only His life but also His reputation so that everyone could understand that they are included in His kingdom.

As I reflect on Jesus’ crucifixion, I think of how He was mocked and insulted by the crowds. In Luke 22:65 (NLT), it says they hurled all sorts of insults at Him.

There are groups in our society today—like undocumented immigrants—who are often looked down upon and insulted. I understand that immigration laws exist and should be followed. However, as a former immigrant myself, it grieves me to see prejudice and insults directed at men, women, and children who have been hired, used, and often abused by our economic system in need of cheap labor. These people, created in the image of God, deserve dignity, yet are often treated with scorn, even by those who claim to follow Christ.

Religious people sometimes emphasize the legality of immigration over the grace of Jesus. But where is Jesus’ heart in all of this? Would He turn away the stranger? No. Jesus’ ministry was always focused on grace, forgiveness, and inclusion.

His death on the cross makes this clear: no one is beyond the reach of God’s love. His forgiving grace is extended to all, regardless of our past. The entire story of God’s redemptive plan is Good News to the poor, the stranger, and to all believers redeemed by the radical, unconditional love of Jesus.

Concluding Thought:

God’s love extends to everyone, especially those on the margins of society. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection show us that no one is beyond redemption. Let us embrace this truth and extend His grace to those who are often overlooked or rejected.

 Excerpted from “God in Every Step” now available at Amazon.com. Bermie Dizon is a husband, father, grandfather and retired pastor living in Southern California.