Thursday, July 17, 2014

July 18, 2014

No doubt you have been following the developments on the border where some estimates say as many as 300,000 people from Central America from have crossed the into U. S. since October 2013. Currently there are some 50,000+ Central American children illegally entered into the United States. As you know this has created a crisis due to lack of resources to house them, feed them and care for them. Most Americans have compassion for them and yet few Americans want them to be brought to their town. Since thousands of these aliens are under the age of 18 and have come without parents and without valid identifications, it is difficult to know what to do with these poor children who are alone and far from home.

How do we as Christians in America respond to this overwhelming need?

These aliens are in our nations as a result of lawlessness. There is the lawlessness of our government for not enforcing our borders or our immigration laws and the lawlessness of those who crossed the borders illegally. If we give money and resources to aid the crisis created by this lawlessness won’t that just going to encourage more lawlessness?

What IS our responsibility to these hungry people, mostly kids, who have risked their lives to cross several countries to come into the United States for the same freedoms and opportunity that we Americans enjoy? There is evidence that they were lured to our southern border by implied promises of immunity from our government. Given that, who can blame them?

We Christians are commanded to submit to the governmental authority of the nation where we live. But as lawlessness increases and respect for the law decreases we must stay committed to the clearly articulated laws we ARE sure of – God’s law as revealed in His Word.

According to God’s law, here is how the people of God are called to respond:

Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me. ’Then the righteous* will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you? And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.  Matthew 25:34-40

Wesleyan officials are at the border meeting with Federal, State and Local officials to assess the situation and ascertain the most appropriate ways to respond. We will be hearing from them soon and when we do we can decide the best way for us to get involved.