Welcoming the Stranger
It is time to re-establish our reputation as a country that welcomes the stranger and embraces our shared humanity.
“By granting amnesty to those here illegally, we are undermining the rule of law and the process for those who legally become citizens of our great nation. It rewards those who have broken our laws with additional rights & benefits, and incentivizes even more illegal immigration.” — Rep. Roger Williams (R-Weatherford), Twitter, 11/27/2020
I rarely bring up my faith online; it’s hard for me to do it justice in 220 characters or less, and I’m not sure I’ll do it justice here, but I find it challenging not to respond to claims by someone who calls himself a conservative Christian at the beginning of each of his public or television appearances. I don’t know what “conservatism” has to do with Christianity; a conservative Christian is not a Biblical concept, and it’s not talked about in the Bible at all.
I know this because almost six years ago, I committed to read the Bible in its entirety. I started with a chronological Bible. Then I read the typical “Bible in a Year” twice. And since early 2015, I’ve made it my practice to wake up early every day to study the Bible and pray (just laying the backdrop for context, not to pat myself on the back).
What the Bible frequently mentions in both the Old and New Testaments is how we should treat others. Malachi 3:5 describes God’s judgment against those who exploit widows, orphans, and wage earners and against those who turn away an alien (emphasis added). The wise king, Solomon, implores us to plead the cause of the poor and the needy and to speak for those who have no voice in Proverbs 31:8–9. Isaiah commands that we seek justice and defend the fatherless and plead for the widow (Isaiah 1:17). If it displeased Jesus that his followers kept little children from coming to Him (Mark 10:13–16), how much more do we grieve Him when immigrant children are taken away from their parents, locked in cages, and returned to a country without family or someone to take care of them (might I refer the dear reader back to Malachi 3:5). John 3:16 (the verse that reminds us of the Christian faith of our redemption through grace and mercy) uses the Greek word agapao when describing God’s love for us; it is an unconditional love that will never seek anything but the highest good for fellow mankind (Strong’s Concordance #25); as Christians, shouldn’t we aspire to demonstrate this kind of love?
Our elected officials resemble the leaders of the nation described in Isaiah 10:1–4 that received God’s judgment because of its repeated acts of social injustice. “‘Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, who write misfortune, which they have prescribed to rob the needy of justice, and to take what is right from the poor of My people…’”
The Bible never qualifies the treatment of others based on status, legal or otherwise; in fact, quite the opposite is true as demonstrated in the parable of the Good Samaritan that Jesus shared with a young lawyer who questioned who might be considered a neighbor (Luke 10:25–37).
It’s ironic that those who profess faith want to use “law and order” as the basis to deny grace and mercy to those seeking help and amnesty, but Christian theology has been used to justify and legitimize white supremacy in America, including slavery. Those who consider themselves Christ-followers can serve America best by standing for the cause of justice. Elected officials have the ability to change unjust laws to bring about the mercy and grace that Christians received while yet still sinners (Romans 5:8); we who broke God’s law were rewarded with rights and benefits, and for that, I am grateful and hope I can model that sort of loving kindness to others.
For other references to the treatment of immigrants among us, please see Exo. 22:21, 23:9; Lev. 19:33–34; Deut. 10:18–19, 23:16, 24:14,17, and 27:19; Ps. 146:9; Eze. 47:22–23; Zech. 7:10; Jer. 7:6, 22:3; Matt. 25:35–40.
