As I've studied and drawn on what I've learned previously, a few truths are apparent to me in regard to immigration:
1. It was often part of the experience of God's people (see Abram & Sarai, Jacob & sons, the Israelites in Egypt).
2. When the tables were turned and God's people were the ones who possessed the land, God recognized the vulnerability of other aliens and insisted that His people love and care for these immigrants. They were to do this because they themselves were once vulnerable immigrants.
3. God's people are not to fear losing place, privilege, or property. Everything belongs to God. We can trust Him to take care of us.
4. One characteristic of wickedness is oppressing aliens. One characteristic of righteous behavior is caring for aliens.
5. The spiritual ancestors of Mennonites, the Anabaptists, were perpetually aliens, chased out of one territory after another because of their beliefs.
When it comes to immigration, regardless of whether you live in the US, Canada, Paraguay, Kenya, or Indonesia, people who belong to Jesus are to treat strangers with kindness and hospitality. It is the Lord's will. We should, therefore, do just that.
It is time for us to hang up on political rhetoric in regard to immigration. It is time for us to take courageous action as followers of Jesus not the stances of Democrats, Republicans, or Tea Party-ists. It is time for us to surrender our cushy, smug place of believing this or that about immigration. It is time for us to practice hospitality.
3 comments:
Jeff,
I just finished reading your posts on immigration and appreciated your approach to the subject by reviewing the Old Testament story of God's people as immigrants and God's commands as to how they were then to treat others who were aliens in the land.
Other law codes of Ancient Near Eastern nations at the time of Israel, barely spoke about the treatment of sojourners and so God's instructions would have been in stark contrast to what was acceptable behavior towards aliens, and represented a desire on God's part for his people to be set apart from the nations around them and to live by a very different set of laws.
How quickly we forget that the ancestors of us Americans were once aliens in this land and in order to make it "theirs", they drove out the people who were native to the land. Now we who are descendants of those early foreigners fear those who would come as aliens and share "our" land, "our" jobs, "our" healthcare system, "our" neighborhoods, etc. As Christians, I wonder if we recognize the irony in this.
I believe that it is our misguided sense of what is "ours" and the entitlement that that affords us that drives much of our fear and prevents us from having an open mind and generous heart towards immigrants.
Immigration is indeed a very difficult issue but I agree with your first post where you suggest that as Christians we must look to the Scriptures for guidance rather than listening to the political pundits.
I wonder if you have read, Christians at the Border: Immigration, the Church and the Bible, by M. Daniel Carrol. (It's in your local library.)
In it he states, "The heart of the American identity is its Anglo-Protestant beliefs and values, the English language, and the legacy of Western European culture". As Christians do we claim this identity or do we seek to live by another identity? Who we are and whose we are, are not always clear by the way we live.
Again, quoting Carrol, "Each of us has a particular set of lenses through which we interpret the reality that surrounds us and our identity and role in that context. These lenses are calibrated according to our background and experiences. For Christians, the Bible should offer us a different set of lenses to see through--to see things as God sees them...When the author has engaged Christians in conversation about immigration, he found that more often than not, their choice of support or non support of strict immigration policies had little to do with Christian convictions and much to do with ideological commitments and personal background and experience."
Thanks for tackling this very important issue and may we all give thoughtful prayer and prayerful thought to it.
My post was too long so it cut off the rest of my comment. I just wanted to thank you for tackling this important issue and may we all approach it with prayerful thought and thoughtful prayer.
Thanks for your comments on the topic and for the tip on the Carrol book. I'll have to check that out.
I cannot state strongly enough how right I believe you are when you talk about wearing the correct lenses when we approach the matter of immigration or any hot topic, for that matter.
Our opinions and beliefs are first to be formed by the Word of God.
Post a Comment