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"Whenever you enter a city or village, search for a worthy person and stay in his home until you leave town. 
When you enter the home, give it your blessing.
If it turns out to be a worthy home, let your blessing stand; if it is not, take back the blessing. 
If any household or town refuses to welcome you or listen to your message, shake its dust from your feet as you leave. 
I tell you the truth, the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah will be better off than such a town on the judgment day."
Matthew 10:11-15 NLT
This is a continuation of Jesus' instructions to his team, the 12 Apostles. 
I'm keen to know what the blessing is like, and what happens when it's taken back. 
Jesus is clear about one thing tho, that's the importance of welcoming the stranger. 
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks quotes the rabbinical writing from the 2nd centrury:
"When a human being mints many coins in the same mint they all come out exactly the same.
God makes every human being in the same mint, in the same image, his image, and we all come out different". 
He then points out that "love your neighbour" appears once in the Mosaic books of the Bible yet love the stranger appears 36 times. 
Why?
Because it's much harder to love the stranger than your neighbour. 

And that's the test that Jesus is sending his Apostles out with...how well do my people, love the stranger. 
How can I see God's image in the face of the stranger, who is not like me?
I wonder how well one of the Apostles would be welcomed at my door?
#wordsofJesus 
#redletterBible
#lovepeople

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