There is perhaps no topic more capable of dividing a room today than immigration. Mention it at a dinner table, post something about it on social media, and within minutes, hard lines are drawn. People choose sides. Tempers flare. And somewhere in the noise, the actual human being at the center of the conversation gets lost entirely.
But what does the Bible say? Not a political party. Not a cable news network. Not a social media algorithm. What does Scripture actually say about how we are to treat the person who has traveled from another country to live among us?
The answer, it turns out, is far less complicated than our political climate would have us believe. It is a single word: love.
The Language of Scripture
Throughout the Old and New Testaments, the Bible uses several words to describe those who come from outside a community: outsider, foreigner, stranger, alien. These terms are often used interchangeably, and they frequently appear alongside other vulnerable groups, namely the widow, the orphan, and the poor. This is not a coincidence. In the eyes of God, the immigrant belongs in the same category of people who deserve special care, protection, and compassion.
This is not a minor theme tucked away in an obscure passage. It is a thread woven through the entire fabric of Scripture, from the earliest books of the law all the way through the teachings of Jesus and the letters of the early church.
Why We Are Called to Love the Outsider
There are several compelling, scripture-rooted reasons why followers of Jesus are called to show genuine hospitality and kindness to immigrants.
Love is the defining mark of a Christian. Jesus identified the two greatest commandments as loving God completely and loving your neighbor as yourself. When pressed on who qualifies as a neighbor, Jesus answered with a story in in which the hero is a Samaritan, a cultural and ethnic outsider, who stops to help a wounded Jewish traveler. The point is unmistakable: your neighbor is anyone God places in your path, regardless of their origin.
We are all outsiders. This is perhaps the most disarming truth in this entire conversation. The Bible is clear that for followers of Jesus, this world is not our permanent home. describes our citizenship as being in heaven. reminds us that we do not have an enduring city here but are looking for one to come. The great men and women of faith described in understood themselves to be foreigners and nomads on this earth, looking forward to a heavenly homeland. When we grasp this reality, identifying with those who are far from home becomes far more natural. We are all, in the deepest sense, sojourners.
God blesses those who bless the outsider. instructs God’s people to intentionally leave behind portions of their harvest so that the foreigner, the widow, and the orphan could benefit. The principle is not one of scarcity but of deliberate generosity. The promise attached to this practice is direct: God will bless the work of your hands. reinforces this, promising stability and longevity to those who treat outsiders fairly, while warning that mistreatment of the foreigner carries real consequences. puts it plainly, noting that God watches over the foreigner and sustains them, while frustrating the plans of those who would do them harm.
You may be entertaining angels. records the story of Abraham sitting at the entrance of his tent during the heat of the day when three unknown men appeared. Rather than ignoring them or treating them with suspicion, Abraham rushed to greet them and offered them an extravagant meal, preparing the finest food his household could provide. These were not ordinary visitors. They were sent by God and carried a message that Abraham had waited nearly a century to hear: Sarah would bear a son. The blessing Abraham had longed for arrived wrapped in the hospitality he offered to strangers. draws directly on this story, urging believers not to neglect showing hospitality to strangers, noting that some have entertained angels without knowing it.
Serving the outsider is serving Jesus himself. In , Jesus describes the final judgment in terms of how people treated the hungry, the thirsty, the sick, the imprisoned, and the stranger. When the righteous ask when they ever saw Jesus in these conditions and responded, his answer is one of the most arresting statements in all of Scripture. He tells them that whatever they did for the least of these, they did for him.
Our service to the outsider is not merely humanitarian. It is an act of worship.
What Love Looks Like in Practice
Understanding why we should love the outsider is only the beginning. The harder and more important question is what that love actually looks like.
It starts with treating immigrants as equals. makes clear that in Christ, national origin, ethnicity, and social standing create no hierarchy. Every person carries the image of God and deserves to be treated accordingly.
It includes intentional inclusion. records that when the law was read to the community of Israel, the outsiders living among them were gathered in as well. Sharing your faith, your table, and your life with those from other countries is not a political act. It is a profoundly spiritual one.
It requires practical generosity. and both address the economic dimension of caring for the outsider, calling God’s people to leave resources available, to charge no interest, and to ensure that workers receive fair and timely pay.
It demands fairness. and both explicitly forbid mistreating or taking advantage of the foreigner. The repeated reminder in these passages is pointed: remember that you were once outsiders too.
A Challenge Worth Accepting
None of this is easy. Loving those who are different from us, who speak different languages, who carry different customs, who arrived under different circumstances, requires intentionality and humility. But the call of Scripture is not to comfort. It is to Christlikeness.
The immigrant in your city, your neighborhood, your workplace is not a political abstraction. They are a person made in the image of God, watched over by God, and loved by God. And they are your neighbor.
The question is simply whether you will be one to them.
Next in this seriesLoving the Orphan