Immigration and Heavenly Citizenship

“Prejudice is a learned trait.

You’re not born prejudiced; you’re taught it.”   

Charles Swindoll  

  Gustave Le Bon was one of the first scholars to write about crowds as group entities separate from the individual people within them. His 1895 book, The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind, shaped academic discussions for half a century and encouraged 20^th century fascist dictators, including Hitler and Mussolini, to treat crowds as emotional organisms — something to be manipulated and controlled. Take, for example, the effect fear has on a crowd. A panicked crowd can lose all semblance of rationality, charging madly and trampling anyone who can’t keep up.

  Politicians and those in the media are often master manipulators. Rather than using logical, reasoned arguments – they abuse emotional arguments, investing large sums researching trigger points to manipulate the populace.

  Yet, too often we in the Church are manipulated by those in this world system, forgetting that we’re first citizens of another world and Kingdom.

  One of the most highly charged subjects in America are ethnic differences and immigration. Personally, I think many in places of power want to do little other than keep the problem emotionalized. Problem-solving is not in their best interest. The media increases their ratings and politicians can rally their base by throwing them “red meat” rather reasonable solutions.  

  God’s Word has much to say about immigrants and “strangers.” Though written to the nation of Israel, “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:33-34), the principles apply to us, the Church. As “strangers” in this world, we’ve been shown great mercy and grace. It’s imperative then that as God’s people, we also show great mercy and grace. But many Christians mime the talking points of a secular world when it comes to immigrants. We devolve into nationalism when our focus should be evangelism. Our first commitment must be the Great Commission.

  Is it right to have political opinions? Yes, but they must always be subordinate to Kingdom mandates. For example, people will nearly go ballistic about being asked to press a certain number if you speak English but another number, if you speak Spanish. They’ll pontificate that if you come to America, you should learn to speak English. But is it really a big deal? As a Christian, should I be more concerned that someone from another culture and country knows the language of the gospel than how to speak English? Shouldn’t that be my primary concern?

  Two books of the Bible focus on immigrants: Ruth and Philemon. Jesus’ most popular parable portrays a despised foreigner as a hero showing mercy when nationals (and religious leaders failed), the Good Samaritan.

  Ruth has many of the traits that enrage many Americans. She’s from an enemy country, one that attacked Israel in the past. She’s very poor, so poor that the Law had welfare provisions for those in her situation that cost profit to citizens. No doubt she had an accent and dressed differently. Yet, the book of Ruth is not only a great love story, it flows with grace, mercy and redemption. God’s hand was on Ruth’s life, so much so that she’s in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus (Matthew 1:5).

  In Paul’s letter to his friend, Philemon, he writes of a runaway slave, Onesimus. As a runaway slave, Roman law justifies the death penalty. Yet, how does Paul respond?

  Paul bases his logic on love rather than authority — both his and that of Roman law. He steps in as the advocate on behalf of the criminal who’s now become a brother in Christ. He requests that Philemon receive the runaway as a brother, and even as if he were Paul himself. Hospitality is no small issue in the Roman world. Paul personally accepts any debt, moral or economic, and asks Philemon to charge it to Paul’s account. Finally, Paul expects Philemon to do even more than Paul has asked.

  What would happen to the gospel, to our mission, if rather than reacting as Americans first, we responded to immigrants as we see patterned for us in Ruth and Philemon, as Christ-followers? Foundational to our mission is the command of our Lord to “make disciples of all nations.” The arrival of immigrants into our neighborhoods have brought the nations to our doorsteps. This movement of people is not an accident. The God who made all people also “determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live…so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him” (Acts 17:26-27). While economic and sociological reasons drive people groups to migrate, God sovereignly superintends the movement of people so that they might come into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ and follow Him as disciples. This is why it’s so important for believers to combat the strain of anti-immigrant attitudes that pervade American society.

  Christ-followers cannot see foreign neighbors as an intrusion to our way of life, but as God’s sovereign opportunity for Christ to be expressed in this world. The immigrant who arrives may be a brother or sister to be added to our fellowship, or a lost soul in need of the gospel. We must first be Kingdom motivated not nationalistic. We are heavenly citizens and King Jesus’ values must be our mandate! This world is not our home! 

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