Once, in Eden’s light, they walked,
In fear, mistrust, and pride they balked.
Their own way looked better than God’s,
So He cast them out to the odds.
Though God walled them out, yet He stayed near,
He watched them roam this earthly sphere.
He clothed their shame knowing His plan,
To redeem them from the dusty land.
When Abraham heard the voice divine:
“Go to a land that I’ll make thine.”
He wandered there, a stranger still,
Seeking the City of God’s will.
From Abraham’s loins a nation grew,
In Egypt enslaved, four centuries through.
Bound and broken, crushed and torn,
Yet God’s eye watched, where hope was worn.
And when they were freed by God’s hand,
The law that God, would make command:
“Be kind to the stranger, love them as you—
For once you were aliens too.”
The psalmist sang of a just cause
To guard the stranger one must because
God watches over the oppressed and poor,
His mercy flows to the foreigner.
The prophets warned with fire and might:
“Do not oppress, do not fight
The alien, the widow, the orphaned heart—
Deprive them not, lest from God you part.”
Then Jesus was born, in flesh, divine,
Refugee Son, in a troubled time.
To Egypt He fled, a stranger, a child,
God in the dust, both meek and mild.
He preached a kingdom for all men,
Every race and tongue and kin.
That he would save from cursed yeast,
According to how we treat the least.
And John envisioned a great throng,
From every tribe, with one great song.
Before the Lamb, all men unite,
Bathed in mercy, robed in white.
Yet now, the largest Church on earth,
Wielding wealth, claiming new birth,
Builds walls to keep strangers away,
Turning the poor from its doorway.
Refugees wander, oppressed and unseen,
Deprived of justice, crushed between
A gospel of love and hands that deny,
While heaven looks down, and angels cry.
O Church, remember who you are,
Called to love, to welcome, not bar.
For the walled-out Christ still calls to you,
“Whatever you’ve done, you’ve done to Me too.”
Come, O Church, to the narrow way,
Where love shines bright at break of day.
Lay down your walls, take up your cross,
And count the cost, not gain or loss.
Follow the One who bore your shame,
Who calls you now by His great name.
For hope is found in His pierced hands,
Where grace flows wide for all the lands.
The stranger waits, the orphan cries,
Will you reflect the Savior’s eyes?
Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with God
Love deeply, with the gospel on your feet shod.
For Christ alone is our living hope,
A lifeline strong, a Savior’s rope.
Come back to Him, and walk His way,
Till all are gathered on that final day.
Navigating by Faith 