Strangers

by David Burka

Walking the Appalachian Trail with my family, a section each year, has been one of the high points of my life. A few years ago, we could not get our schedules together so I ventured out for a five-day, four-night trek alone. I started in Damascus, VA, and my final destination was a no-name motel along I-81, some seventy miles north. I left my car at the destination motel and had a shuttle driver take me to Damascus.
There is a lot of macho bravado while you are humming along in a nice warm car with someone who knows the area, but a lot of uncertainty when he drops you off in the middle of nowhere in the pouring rain. No big deal, right? Just walk to your car. You are carrying forty-five pounds on your back and the car is seventy miles north through some big old mountains.
In our daily Bible reading (I know you have all kept current! If not, jump in!), we have come to a passage that means a lot to me, Exodus 23:9, which says: "And you shall not oppress a stranger, since you yourself know the feeling of a stranger, for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt."
When you are walking alone, far from home and far from your destination, you are a stranger in a foreign land. The securities of friends, a warm meal, and a place to lay your head for the night are far from certain. To meet a fellow trekker who is also hiking alone is like meeting your best friend in the world. There is an incredible bond because each of you knows the trials and tribulations of the other. How sweet that fellowship is even if it only lasts for a few minutes.
How does this verse apply to each of us? Most of us have been newcomers at one time or another at Mt. Juliet Church of Christ. We can all identify with the "feeling of a stranger". The next time you meet a visitor, try to put yourself in his shoes and remember the time someone introduced themselves to you. Sweet fellowship...That is what it is all about! Even if they are "just passing through", it means a lot to stop for a moment and share about our journey.
On my hike, I reached the no-name motel five days later, and what a beautiful sight that was to behold. At the end of our earthly journey, Heaven will be many, many times greater than that! Keep up your daily Bible reading - as with any trek, take it one step at a time - and let's welcome the strangers among us as we all seek that Heavenly home!