God, your God, is the God of all gods, he’s the Master of all masters, a God immense and powerful and awesome. He doesn’t play favorites, takes no bribes, makes sure orphans and widows are treated fairly, takes loving care of foreigners by seeing that they get food and clothing. You must treat foreigners with the same loving care— remember, you were once foreigners in Egypt. Deuteronomy 10:17-19
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A lot of drama and discord surrounds our national debate regarding immigration...and how we handle all the foreigners living here. Unfortunately, all the rhetoric is aimed at the "illegals" and their bad behavior. It obfuscates the central demand of scripture; treat the foreigners the same way we treat everybody else. We should remember this when we form immigration policies...
I recognize this appears simplistic, at its core. Even so, is it sound policy to ignore God's expectation simply to ameliorate that problem? I suspect it just compounds the problem.
I understand this is a thorny issue and neither political party has taken a particularly righteous approach. Allow me to suggest we will never arrive at a satisfactory solution unless our first step is a step of obedience.
And, by the way...this approach surely applies to all the tough decisions we face both personally and nationally. I understand the arguments: it's not practical; we can't afford it; it's dangerous. Well, I imagine Jesus had many of those thoughts while seeking His Father's will in Gesthemene. All in all, that turned out well for Him (although, not without pain)...and us.
Live boldly out there today...
