I have seen a lot of people in the past few days as I have traveled to Ecuador and back. I love watching people in airports and other public places. Some are funny-looking, others are stressed out. Some are sleeping because they are tired, others sleep because they are drunk. Some are happy to be on an adventure, others are sad to be forced to obey rules. Some are peaceful waiters-in-line, others are constant pushers-in-the-back. One thing I noticed is that most of them are not people I am normally drawn to. Today, I read a verse that made me smile.

Isaiah 16:4 — Let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them…

It seems pretty clear throughout the Bible that we, as believers in Jesus, should be available for all. The word “outcast” means one who is excluded from a society or system. Most of the people we see around us are excluded from our personal systems, sad as that may sound. Think about it, though. Is it not true? Do we not judge others around us and consider them to be outcasts? The word “sojourn” means a temporary stay. It is not permanent and I think that is important. Our job is to temporarily be available for those around us, for temporary is all we have.

We may only have a few minutes or seconds with certain people on this earth. Think about that: there are humans on this earth who you will interact with for only a matter of seconds or minutes. And yet we spend that precious time judging them? We spend it considering them outcasts? There is ample history about the relationship between the Israelites and the Moabites — read the book of Ruth. Let us not cast out others but rather let them temporarily abide with us.

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This entry was posted by zac on Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 at 6:17 am and is filed under Weekly Jib Jab. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.