We Once Were Strangers
We once were strangers
Pilgrims with no home
No one to call family
Helpless and alone
Driven out of our land
And denied a place to stay
We once were strangers
Living far away
You were a stranger
To the world You’d made
Light shone in the darkness
Darkness was afraid
But You came and You died
So that through the gift You sent
Though we were strangers
Now we are Your friends
We see the stranger
In the refugee
Lord help us remember
It is Christ we see
As live as we love
As we open up our lives
We welcome strangers
And we welcome Christ
© 2023 JG Songs
Resound Worship’s 12 Song Challenge this month was to respond to the issue of immigration, which was (and still is) a hot topic in the UK in 2023. In three verses, I wanted to reflect a) that we were strangers to God but have no been given the right to be His children, b) that Jesus came and was considered a stranger to his own creation and that c) in understanding that we once were strangers and that Jesus was a stranger, we should have compassion on strangers and welcome them as we do Christ Himself.
