My neighbors are refugees. They have come to my little town as invited guests of the American government from places such as Iraq, Nepal, Afghanistan, Congo, Burma, and Somalia. Living in what many consider to be the most diverse square mile in America, I have neighbors from dozens of nations.
A few of my neighbors are Syrian Muslims. They are not my enemies. I love them, and they are my friends. I consistently pray for opportunities to tell them of God’s great love for them and that He sent Jesus to bring them salvation. I long for the day we can worship the Lamb together. I believe that is the reason God has allowed them to come to my little town (Acts 17:26-27; Revelation 7:9-10). It is all for His glory!
When Jesus was asked, “Who is my neighbor?” He answered by telling a story, (Matthew 22:34-40; Luke 10:25-37). In the story, Jesus casts a Samaritan as the epitome of a good neighbor. Samaritans were treated as outsiders, half-breeds, and foreigners by the Jews of Jesus’s day. The Jews both feared and despised the Samaritans. They were enemies.
“Who is my neighbor?” was posed to Jesus in the context of a discussion about the most important command in Scripture: to love. Jesus encapsulated all 66 books of the Bible stating the most important command was to love God and the second was to love your neighbor. The subsequent story of the Samaritan illustrated Jesus’ point that one shows loves for God by showing love to his or her neighbor. To an, even more, radical degree, Jesus shows us that God turns enemies into neighbors through our loving actions.
In the Scriptures to which Jesus was referring, God’s people are specifically commanded to love three people: God, their neighbors, and the foreigners living among them (Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18, 33-34). We are to love the foreigner as God loves them, no matter where they may be from. In doing so, we become agents of reconciliation and participants in God’s redemptive mission of turning enemies into friends and foreigners into citizens of His kingdom (Ephesians 2:11-19).
Jesus ended the story of the Samaritan with the words, “You go and do the same.”
I believe there are at least three expressions of our love for God and for our neighbors in the specific context of welcoming refugees:
Trust God. We must first understand that God is ultimately behind all movements of people and He is actively bringing foreigners from all nations to Himself. This global redemptive mission includes sending missionaries and going on mission trips, but also welcoming and receiving foreigners. Do we really trust God enough to be active participants in this mission?
Let us not be guilty of idolizing our security or spiritualizing our fear of man and calling it wisdom. God’s wisdom is a gift from His own hand, poured out freely into our hearts when we submit ourselves to His will and trust Him. God’s wisdom is seeing life from His perspective and living life according to His purpose. Our purpose is to live for the glory of God, shown most clearly in the face of His Son, Who lived among us as a stranger and a refugee.
Be thankful. Our response to the foreigner should come from the memory of our own foreignness. We are strangers in a foreign land – spiritually for the Church and historically for the American. As I write this, it is the day after Thanksgiving, and I sit comfortably in the presence of my family, in a warm home and with a full stomach. I give thanks to God for His provision – my needs are met, I enjoy the benefits of citizenship in a free country, and I have been given salvation in Jesus Christ.
I also think on many of my friends who are refugees who have fled situations where their basic needs have gone unmet. They were homeless and without food or clothing. They have lost family members to bombs, guns, or swords. They are victims to vile terrorists, malicious governments, and the Enemy who seeks to kill, steal, and destroy. Most of my refugee friends never heard the gospel until they came to America. I am thankful that some of them now have and are following Jesus today.
Seek justice. The foreigner is to be treated equally, fairly, and with dignity and justice. The foreigner’s basic needs are to be met. This includes providing the same opportunities for work so they may provide for their families’ needs, and to live and worship freely, just as American who inherited their citizenship.
I live in a state where the governor is opposed to resettling Syrian refugees. Part of the issue is the several dozen Syrian refugee families already living here. The governor has frozen all federal funding for these families. This means that, right now, there are several families going without the government assistance promised to them when they arrived. They have no income, no healthcare, no food, and no legal status. Their only support is the generosity of the community.
What a wonderful opportunity for the church in America to welcome these strangers in Jesus’s name and help meet some basic, tangible needs! Ultimately, we want to see these families offered the chance to not only assimilate and thrive in America but to hear the good news of Jesus and experience the grace of the God who loves them.
Ultimately, all of our understanding, warm thoughts, and good intentions are not truly loving unless we actually do something. Love acts on behalf of another. If you want to begin ministering to the foreigners in our midst, consider the following:
- Understand God’s heart for the foreigner. Take a quick survey of the Bible, noting God’s commands to care for the alien, foreigner, sojourner, or stranger. Also, pay special attention to Jesus’s interactions with Gentiles. Will you care?
- Advocate for the weak. At one point last week in my state, there were 7,000 calls to the governor that opposed Syrian refugee resettlement. There were only 2 who called to support resettlement. Will you speak up?
- Support those in crisis. The resettlement agencies working with the current Syrian refugee families are in critical need of funding, especially in states where that funding has been cut-off. Will you give?
- Go to the unreached. A few of my friends recently returned from the Greek/Macedonian border where thousands of refugees are pouring through each day. They are completely overwhelmed, understaffed, and desperately in need of your help. This is not only an opportunity to help in a time of crisis, but it is a tremendous chance to share the gospel of Jesus with those who have not yet heard. Will you go?
- Get to know a refugee. Share a meal with a foreigner. Listen to his or her story. Chances are, there are several refugees near you. More than anything, they are wanting an American friend. Will it be you?
This author has requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of his mission work.
