In this episode I spoke with Catherine McNiel, author of Fearing Bravely: Risking Love for our Neighbors, Strangers, and Enemies. We discussed the relationship between love and our Christian identity, and the various kinds of fears that keep us from loving others. Jesus calls us to love not only our neighbors but also strangers and our enemies. While this command is not easy to follow, God’s unconditional love can motivate us and give us the courage to take a risk and show Christlike love to others.

Takeaways:

1. Do you see your neighbors and strangers as a threat? Catherine believes most Americans are being discipled by fear when it comes to interactions with strangers. She urges us to follow Jesus’ call to overcome fear with love. 
   
2. Our calling as Christians is to love the foreigner and treat them with dignity and respect.
   
3. We can practice hospitality by getting to know the immigrants in our neighborhood and cultivating a relationship with them.
   

Watch on YouTube

https://youtu.be/eoevlsMReAo

About Catherine

Catherine McNiel is an author, writer, editor, speaker, and chaplain searching for the creative, redemptive work of God in our ordinary lives. She aims to kindle conversations that mingle theology with real life, and open eyes to God’s ongoing presence in our world. Catherine has studied and taught Intercultural Studies and Theology, has an MA in Human Service Counseling, and is working on a Master of Divinity at North Park Theological Seminary. Her books include Fearing Bravely: Risking Love for our Neighbors, Strangers, and Enemies; All Shall Be Well: Awakening to God’s Presence in His Messy, Abundant World; and Long Days of Small Things: Motherhood as a Spiritual Discipline which was an ECPA finalist for New Author. Catherine’s work has been featured by numerous magazines, websites, churches, and ministries. Most recently she was the project editor for the NavPress Women’s Devotional Bible, and is finishing her fourth book on navigating MidFaith Crisis by Intervarsity Press.

Catherine lives in the Chicagoland area with her husband, three children, and one enormous garden. She’s on the lookout for wisdom, beauty, and iced coffee, and is often seen gardening. Subscribe to her newsletter here.

Mabel is an author, speaker, and Bible teacher. An immigrant from India who has lived in seven cities across the U.S. in fourteen years, Mabel navigates between cultures, feeling at home everywhere and nowhere. In her award-winning book, Far from Home: Discovering Your Identity as Foreigners on Earth, Mabel draws from her personal experience as an immigrant and examines the lives of biblical heroes to shed light on how we can find purpose and joy as sojourners on earth.

Learn more Mabel here.

Buy Mabel’s book, Far from Home: Discovering Your Identity as Foreigners on Earth, on Amazon.

Buy Mabel’s book from End Game Press.

Download the tip sheet, Love Your Immigrant Neighbor : 5 Action Steps, here.