Misfits
Any immigrant who lives with you must be treated as if they were one of your citizens. You must love them as yourself, because you were immigrants in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God. ~ Leviticus 19:34 (CEB)
God has shown me that I should never call a person impure or unclean. ~ Acts 10:28 (CEB)
God, you love those whom everyone else considers to be unlovable. You are not swayed by those who distrust immigrants or who can't come to accept foreign foods and practices. And that's good for me, because I'm more like an outsider than a genuine insider. I'm more like a foreigner than a native. I am the misfit who can't do things right. But you -- through Christ Jesus -- you fit me into your family anyway. So, I gladly join you in welcoming immigrants and other misfits. They are now my brothers and sisters. Amen.
TRANSLATIONS
ABP = Authorized Boydston Paraphrase — my own freestyle biblical adaptation — somewhere between paraphrase, commentary, and sermon
CEB = Common English Bible (©2011, the Common English Bible)
CEV = Contemporary English Version (©1995, American Bible Society)
MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)
NIRV = New International Reader's Version (©1996, 1998, Biblica)
NIV = New International Version (©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, Biblica)
NLT = New Living Translation (©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, Tyndale House Foundation)
