I don’t know how it happened, and I don’t know when it happened. But somehow Christians lost their way. We’ve traded pragmatism and privilege for justice and salvation. When did the church decide it was okay to reject asylum-seekers from our country? When did we decide it was okay in God’s eyes to build a wall and demand that our political leaders not only reject foreigners, but abuse them inhumanely as a warning to stay away from our borders?
Do We Actually Read our Bibles or Just Meet to Talk About it?
The more I read the Bible, the more convinced I am that it is a continuous presentation of asylum-seekers. Salvation pictures God’s people as refugees. The moment Adam & Eve were tossed from the garden, mankind was a refugee, seeking escape from eternal death.
Noah was a refugee, as was Enoch. It’s the same with Israel, slaves in Egypt, refugees in pursuit of God’s promised land of rest.
Abraham, Jacob and his family were refugees in Egypt. Rahab became a refugee with Jericho’s destruction. Ruth also, leaving Moab for Israel. Elijah, David – even Jesus was a refugee in Egypt to escape Herod’s murderous intentions.
It is why Old Testament law is so focused on not mistreating foreigners but loving them because we were also foreigners before God saved us (Leviticus 19:34). Our witness to the world is pictured as work to save those who are in danger of death – i.e., refugees! So why are we so calloused in our treatment of asylum-seekers?
The number of refugees globally is stunning and Scripture reveals that our treatment of refugees is a litmus test of our Christianity. So why is it that “Christian” nations seem to be most guilty? The US and all across Europe, refugees are blocked, shipped out, beaten, mistreated, denied entry or trapped in a refugee camp with no way out. Our plan to deal with them is to hold them indefinitely in an open-air prison, preferably built in a third world country.
No Christian would allow this type of treatment for one of their family members, so why do we pass by on the other side of the road and act like we don’t see anything (Luke 10:30)? It proves we are not the good Samaritan.
Making a Small Difference
Last week many from our church got word that a brother of one of our Iranian asylum-seekers had received a letter he would be deported in less than 10 days. He’d sought asylum in Sweden, but when he turned 18, they denied him further asylum. He came to Germany seeking asylum, but officials decided it was Sweden’s case and informed him he would be sent back to Sweden . . . where he would be deported to Iran. He’s a Christian and fears his Muslim father would have him put to death.
But God spoke to a number of us, and each began to investigate ways we could help. After initially striking out, the Lord spoke to our Pastor and leadership team, and we offered this young man “kirchen-asyl”. Here in Germany, churches can be places of legal asylum while the government formally conducts a review. It can take 6 months and cost 5,000 euros, but our God is great, and He will provide.
The really cool part was that God mobilized so many individuals in our church and each contributed help. In little more than 24 hours, a room was prepared for him from one of our administrative offices, a Christian lawyer who specializes in asylum-seekers was found for him, and he was transported to our church safely just a couple days before his deportation. I rejoice that so many answered God’s call to the helpless and hopeless.
Being Counterculture
Amidst all the useless culture wars being fanned in the US, there’s a real war going on here in Europe, not far from here in Ukraine. It’s been devastating to the Ukrainian people and their country, and it looks like it’s not going to end any time soon. My heart goes out to all the Ukrainian refugees scattered throughout Europe – even to the US.
What I hate, is the constant stream of articles showing the approval of billions of dollars and euros to Ukraine’s defense. I’m not taking a political position. I’m just saying, why is it that we keep an accurate tally of how much is being spent on military hardware that only brings death to the combatants without bringing any relief from the war for the Ukrainian people?
Does anyone know how much we’ve spent on refugee aid? Funny, but that number just doesn’t seem as important as the amount of money for carnage and destruction. It’s like the world’s priorities are totally inverted. That’s not unexpected, but where is the global church in all this? And what about all the other refugees scattered throughout Africa, Southeast Asia, Central and South America? Where is the church, God’s specialized army of spiritual warriors who specialize in saving refugees?
Yes, the numbers are staggering, with estimates approaching 300 million! But I’m not asking that we change the world. Just the church!