It's not often that I feel grateful to live in Los Angeles (I prefer Colorado), but making friends with people of many cultures and hearing their stories is one of the benefits.
Some of my friends from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico have shared with me the reasons they fled their homes at great risk and felt blessed by God to start new lives here--some with legal papers, some without.
If I had not lived these years in the LA area, I could be one of those people blocking buses of children and mothers who were picked up in Texas after crossing the border and now need housing while they await hearings on whether they will be deported.
Another place where I have learned a more biblical attitude toward immigrants is this website, which is affiliated with the National Association of Evangelicals, World Vision, World Relief, and others.
http://evangelicalimmigrationtable.com/
When God created heaven and earth, lines between countries were not part of God's work.
These are human lines, and most of them have been fought over with battles causing great loss of life. The US-Mexico border is no exception.
We cannot claim God's blessing on this wall we have created, especially when it separates rich from poor, opportunity from oppression, and safety from danger. It is our government that defines "legal" and "illegal," often causing misery, family separation, and loss of life.
Yes, we stand to lose a little of our wealth and our safety by sharing with others who flee criminal gangs, drug wars, government killing, and simple poverty.
Yet we are called to "Do unto others as we would have them do unto us" (Matthew 7:12).
Jesus didn't say it would be easy. His words called for radical change, both in his day and in ours.
But the choice is ours: follow Jesus... or not.
Linda Allen states the choices in her song "Hard Work To Do":
http://www.lindasongs.com/pages/lyrics/lay13.htm
http://www.amazon.com/Hard-Work-to-Do/dp/B0014BYUK0
Some of my friends from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico have shared with me the reasons they fled their homes at great risk and felt blessed by God to start new lives here--some with legal papers, some without.
If I had not lived these years in the LA area, I could be one of those people blocking buses of children and mothers who were picked up in Texas after crossing the border and now need housing while they await hearings on whether they will be deported.
Another place where I have learned a more biblical attitude toward immigrants is this website, which is affiliated with the National Association of Evangelicals, World Vision, World Relief, and others.
http://evangelicalimmigrationtable.com/
When God created heaven and earth, lines between countries were not part of God's work.
These are human lines, and most of them have been fought over with battles causing great loss of life. The US-Mexico border is no exception.
We cannot claim God's blessing on this wall we have created, especially when it separates rich from poor, opportunity from oppression, and safety from danger. It is our government that defines "legal" and "illegal," often causing misery, family separation, and loss of life.
Yes, we stand to lose a little of our wealth and our safety by sharing with others who flee criminal gangs, drug wars, government killing, and simple poverty.
Yet we are called to "Do unto others as we would have them do unto us" (Matthew 7:12).
Jesus didn't say it would be easy. His words called for radical change, both in his day and in ours.
But the choice is ours: follow Jesus... or not.
Linda Allen states the choices in her song "Hard Work To Do":
http://www.lindasongs.com/pages/lyrics/lay13.htm
http://www.amazon.com/Hard-Work-to-Do/dp/B0014BYUK0
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