Welcome Aliens!

"Aliens! Come forth and be welcome among us!"

Now, I know what you're thinking...

"Good Lord...Stephen has lost it...he's over there asking for space invaders to come down from the stars. What a loon!'

I'm not talking about space aliens. I'm talking about the other kind of aliens. The human kind!

Lately, the United States has been in a bit of a tizzy about immigration. It's been quite a debacle and has only eased due to some distraction concerning statues. 

Sadly, many Christians have begun to pray against other nations and its peoples out of these same fears. We were called to love them, not abandon them. 

"The government needs to think of its citizens first! We have to take care of ourselves!"

The government does need to take care of its citizens. No doubt. We can not let, however, the care of American citizens lead to the negligence of the rest of humanity. God called us to the love and care of foreigners and immigrants.

"God wants us to prioritize our nation and her safety. Not immigrants!"

That's actually not true.

At her conception, the nation of Israel was commanded multiple times to accept the foreigner and treat them as if they were actually citizens. Don't believe me? 

Lev. 19: 33-34: "When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God." 

Lev. 23:22:" When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy and the alien. I am the Lord your God.”  

Deut. 10:16-20: "So circumcise your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer.  For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe.  He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing.  So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name."

Later, Deuteronomy 24 repeats the same commandment from Leviticus 23 concerning harvesting. Then, in chapter 26, we see that living out these commandments gives glory to God and will be a form of testimony to the greatness of our God!

If this was expected of the land of Israel, how much even more so is it expected of us who are in Christ!

In Matthew 25, Christ gives a very clear image of this expectation when He states "for I was naked and you clothed Me. I was a stranger and you took me in."

Paul in his letter to Timothy, the book of Hebrews, and the Third letter of John all praise the actions of those who seek out strangers and the poor with the desire to serve and to shelter them. In fact, the New Testament that we ourselves are "foreigners living in a strange land."

As members of the Church, we are citizens of a nation that transcends the geopolitical borders of our secular governments, and we bear the responsibility and privilege of reaching out the nations in love and charity for the sake of the glory of God. It is the very Gospel by which we have been rescued out of darkness that compels us to "Go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them..."

We most certainly should not be naive or flippant in our approach to this issue, but we can't abandon those in need just because they are of the same nationality as pagans and terrorists. 

Let us stand together as the church, one nation under God, and show forth His love rather than let the enemy instill fear and hatred in our hearts to prevent the spreading of God's kingdom. 

Grace and Peace,

Stephen