What would Jesus say about illegal immigrants?

 

“My mother left Cuba to come to the United States by herself. 
She was an eight year old undocumented immigrant.” Bobby Cannavale

 

  Currently, there’s a bill before Congress on immigration called The Dignity Act that has bipartisan support. Will it finally take positive steps forward to solve our immigration, legal and illegal, problem? I hope so. Yet, it’s been nearly 40 years (1986) since Congress passed any reforms in our immigration laws, but the problem has only grown worse.
  Christians are first and foremost citizens of heaven. It’s wrong when Christ-followers mime the political position of their political party yet are ignorant of biblical truth. When we align our positions on ethical issues with politics rather than Scripture, it’s idolatry.
  What does the Bible teach? Christians are to be merciful toward immigrants. “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). Jesus echoed that same truth in Matthew 25:35. As citizens of God’s Kingdom, Christians should seek to influence the nation that they’re earthly citizens of to have a compassionate immigration policy.
  So what should we do about illegal immigration? It’s very complex and no one has all of the answers, yet believers must have God’s Word as their resource for working through issues like these. Also, other than Native Americans, we’re all immigrants and must be committed to finding safe, reasonable ways for others to come to America, particularly those facing religious persecution or political oppression.
  While the political focus is on illegal immigration and our borders, I believe we should be first focused on those who are already here. God is not the God of fear. It’s morally wrong that we have those living among us who live in fear of being pulled over for a minor infraction because it might mean deportation. It’s estimated that there over 11 million illegal immigrants in the States. It’s twice the population of Wisconsin. Some 20% were brought in as children. For example, I have a friend brought to the States as a baby yet has worked for years here. My friend doesn’t have a birth certificate so has tremendous difficulty applying for citizenship.  
  Scripture has two virtues that help us develop a biblical worldview of illegal immigration: Justice and Mercy. The Bible teaches that God ordains government to secure justice for those under its jurisdiction, in part by making and enforcing laws, including immigration laws. The Bible repeatedly emphasizes that Christians must exhibit mercy. While government should enforce immigration laws, justice never justifies harshness. All immigrants are Imago Dei. It’s offensive to God to treat immigrants (legal or illegal) as subhuman. And who among us wouldn’t risk illegally immigrating to protect our children? Let me suggest some considerations to help us develop a biblical perspective.   
  There should be a means of deportation for criminals. It’s a known fact that Drug Cartels take advantage of our lax approach to illegal immigration to import illegal drugs. Illegal immigrants who break major laws like drug trafficking, sex trafficking or violent crimes or who have a criminal record for serious crimes in their nation of origin should be deported.
  There should be simple, multiple paths to legal status or citizenship. It shouldn’t cost thousands for an illegal currently living here to secure citizenship. Yes, they should have to work a certain amount of time once they’ve applied for citizenship and can’t remain if unwilling to work. Documentation like birth certificates should be simplified or even waived depending on circumstances. Birth certificates in the U.S. weren’t common until after World War II. Imagine what it’s like in 3^rd world countries? Dreamers are often victims in their documentation situation and shouldn’t be penalized for decisions made by others which they had no input in.
  There should be incentives for selected immigrants. Imagine how impoverished our country would be if Albert Einstein hadn’t been allowed to flee to America to escape the Nazis. Or Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of State under presidents Nixon and Ford. Kissinger’s Jewish family fled Germany in response to rising Nazism. Artists like Gloria Estefan are here because her parents fled Communist Cuba.
  We have a doctor and engineer shortage. Those who will benefit our country should be given incentives to come and become citizens.
  There should be a system in place, not amnesty for those who entered illegally. We should not simply grant amnesty to those who’ve broken the law. If undocumented immigrants wish to gain legal status, we should allow it, but it’s unjust to place them ahead of those already pursuing the progress legally. Undocumented immigrants should first undergo criminal background checks and pay some back taxes for previously undocumented income. Going to “the back of the line” doesn’t mean that they’d be deported, but they should only receive provisional documentation while waiting to either receive their green card or citizenship. And there should be a deadline to apply for legal status so undocumented immigrants will come forward in a timely manner.
  Alexis de Tocqueville believed America’s greatness was birthed by her moral goodness, especially the moral fiber of her people and government. If we want America to be great, we must do our part to help her be morally good. God has called us to a higher calling than partisan politics – we are to be salt and light for His glory. While there are no simple answers, as citizens of heaven we must encourage a commitment to justice and mercy. 

Can we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

Forgiving the Unforgivable

“Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a permanent attitude.”

                                                                        Martin Luther King, Jr.

  If you haven’t seen the video of Brandt Jean forgiving and then embracing Amber Guyger, please Google it to watch it. It’s a powerful example of grace and forgiveness where humanly we’d expect hatred.  

  Amber Guyger is the former Dallas cop who mistakenly shot and killed Brandt Jean’s brother, her unarmed black neighbor, 26-year-old Botham Jean. Botham, an accountant from the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, was watching TV and eating a bowl of ice cream in his own apartment. Guyger stepped into his apartment after mistaking it for her own and thought he was an intruder. She fired two shots, striking him once in the chest, killing him. Last week she was convicted of murder and sentenced to 10 years.

  During his victim impact statement, Brandt Jean stunned the courtroom and the world. This was his opportunity to tell Guyger exactly what he thought of the former officer after she was sentenced for murdering his brother last year. His older brother, Botham, was his best friend.

  There were only two rules for his “victim impact statement” – no threats and no profanity. Yet, what came next was a stunning moment for those in the courtroom and those who watched online. Even jaundiced courthouse veterans wept at something that they’d never seen before.

  Brandt took a breath into the microphone and began to speak. He hadn’t told his family what he planned to say, he told Guyger. He spoke for himself, not them. “If you truly are sorry, I know I can speak for myself, I forgive you.” He told her that he wanted what Botham would have wanted. “I think giving your life to Christ would be the best thing that Botham would want for you. I love you as a person, and I don’t wish anything bad on you.” He continued, telling Guyger that he didn’t even want her to go to prison. “Can I give her a hug, please?” Brandt asked the Judge. “Please.”

  Judge Tammy Kemp gave him the OK. Guyger hesitated for just a moment and then she rushed toward Jean and wrapped her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her as she sobbed uncontrollably. They whispered as they embraced, words heard only by them. Twice Jean and Guyger started to pull apart, but then hugged again. Both were in tears when they finally broke away.

  Yet, that wasn’t the end. Powerfully moved by what she’d witnessed, Judge Kemp stepped out of the room for a moment and returned with a Bible. She embraced and whispered to Botham’s mother, “I’m so sorry for your loss. Thank you for the way you modeled Christ.” She then stepped up to the now-convicted murderer, placed the Bible in front of her, and gently said, “Read this.” Guyger jumped to her feet and embraced the judge, who in turn, hugged her back, whispering something inaudible in her ear.

  Not surprisingly, Madison, Wisconsin organization, the Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a complaint with the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct that Judge Kemp had overstepped her authority when she prayed with and gave a Bible to Amber Guyger.

  Yet, without the moral absolutes of the Bible, there could be no true justice system. Right and wrong would be subjective or cultural. The Bible says that murder is always wrong (Ex. 20:13). America’s Founding Fathers recognized the need for moral absolutes found in Scripture. It’s why the two tablets of stone symbolizing the Decalogue are portrayed at the United States Supreme Court Building. Amber Guyger was judged and found guilty of murder by the moral absolute standards based on Scripture.

  While human courts rightfully demand justice, the only hope of forgiveness is also found in God’s Word. It would have been an injustice for Guyger to have faced no penalty in a human court of law. Wonderfully for Guyger and for all of us, God has another court and is the final Judge.

  When Jesus died on the cross, He took all of humanity’s punishment upon Himself. He took the guilt of our sins and carried them for us. In a prophetic portrait of the future Christ, the prophet Isaiah wrote, “But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Hebrews 9:22 says, “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”

  The horrible weight of sin is so great that only shed blood can atone for it. Only by the sinless Savior’s death can we understand the extreme consequences of the price of sin. Only by His substitutionary sacrifice can there be forgiveness. If we do not embrace the Cross, we can never receive absolution from guilt. Jesus’ cross is essential for us and for God to be just in offering forgiveness. It’s our only path to forgiveness and freedom.

  It’s because Botham Jean had personally experienced that forgiveness that he could offer it to the one who murdered his brother. And only if Amber Guyger accepts God’s salvation, can she experience forgiveness from God.

  Forgiveness is an act of love, mercy, and grace. It’s a decision to not hold something against another person, despite what they’ve done to you. But it is not automatic. Even God cannot forgive someone who doesn’t want it.  

  Do you want to have your sins forgiven? Forgiveness of every sin, even murder, is available if you will simply place your faith in Christ as your Savior. Ephesians 1:7 says, “In Him [Jesus] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.” Jesus paid our sin debt, so anyone can be forgiven. All we must do is ask God to forgive us, believing Christ died to pay for our forgiveness, and then God will forgive us! It’s that easy! You can’t earn forgiveness or somehow pay for it yourself. You can only receive it, by faith, through the grace and mercy of God. My friend, have you asked God to forgive you?

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

Justice & Jussie Smollett

"When justice is divorced from morality, when rights of individuals are separated from right and wrong, the only definition you have left for justice is the right for every individual to do as he pleases. And the end of that road is anarchy and barbarism."  John Piper

  One of the most moving books that I’ve ever read was a high school English assignment, To Kill a Mockingbird. As a young man, it opened my eyes to injustice as nothing else had. Very few books have so strongly moved me. There’s a dated film version, yet I’d encourage you instead to read the book. It does have some racial language that was characteristic of the Deep South in the period that it describes, the 1930’s.  

  Sadly, injustice is not new. Worse, it shows no sign of going extinct. The recent case of Jussie Smollett, an actor on a TV show, Empire. Smollett claimed that he was attacked early one morning in Chicago by two people he couldn’t give descriptions of, not even as to their sex.  He claimed that they hurled racial and homophobic insults as they assaulted him and then poured some liquid on him before wrapping a thin rope around his neck. He then told police that he went to a friend’s apartment with the rope still around his neck and continued to wear it until police were dispatched 45 minutes later. Though it was a hoax, charges against Smollett for filing a false police report have been dropped.  

  Like most of the world I’d never heard of Jussie Smollett or seen Empire before this hoax unraveled. I have no feelings about the show, positive or negative. Yet, like most people with a moral compass, I despise injustice, falsehood, and duplicity. This case illustrates the true state of injustice.

  Injustice is often perpetuated by economics. That doesn’t fit the media rhetoric, yet the Smollett case in which he’s been given a free pass demonstrates that justice is often based more on economics than ethnicity. The O.J. Simpson, Kobe Bryant, Brock Turner or Robert H. Richards IV cases demonstrate that wealthy is the best Get out of jail free card. Spend a few days in criminal court in an urban area and you’ll discover that those given reduced charges, plea bargains or have charges completely dropped have one thing in common – a good lawyer. But it takes money to afford a good lawyer. The working poor, those in poverty and lower middle class can’t afford a high priced one. Please understand that I’m not denigrating lawyers or judges. They’re attempting to work within a broken system that often fails to protect the most vulnerable.

  Injustice is perpetuated by our preconceptions and prejudices. Lady Justice is to be blind. Our legal system is built on a critical foundation – innocent until proven guilty. We’re in a sad state of affairs when someone can be convicted in the court of public opinion before the case ever goes to trial. That was the injustice of To Kill a Mockingbird. Injustice prevailed because bigotry was crammed into the jury box.

  It’s noteworthy that the Smollett story came shortly after the Covington students news cycle. Journalists too frequently no longer report the news but editorialize. They’ve moved from objectivity to activism in an attempt to make stories fit their worldview. A naïve public hasn’t learned the media is driven by ratings, not truth-seeking.

  With Smollett reporters lack of questioning his claims with the skepticism that they deserved shows that they swallowed his fabrication because it fit their preconceptions. Shoddy journalism has become the norm and it’s not just a liberal media problem. Conservative media pundits are often as guilty of re-shaping stories to fit their bias. That’s because it’s hard to wait and withhold judgment, especially if the competition may scoop you.

  So, how can Christians encourage justice?

  Remember that God is a God of justice. Isaiah 30:18 says, “For the LORD is a God of justice.” Justice is one of God’s attributes. It flows out of His holiness. Justice and righteousness are often used synonymously in the Bible. Righteousness is the quality of being right or just and is another attribute of God. It incorporates both His justice and holiness.

  Justice requires objectively hearing both sides. Proverbs 18:17 says, “The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.” The pursuit of justice means hearing both sides of a story. If we pass judgment after only hearing one, we’re acting like fools and making a mockery of justice. It’s wrong to jump to conclusions. We’re often too quick to judge and then mock the process of justice. To be committed to justice, we must be more patient before we pass judgment.

  Justice requires blindness to who the individual is. Scripture warns us that it’s unjust to consider who someone is when deciding what’s true, right and just (Ex. 23:3; Lev. 19:15). Justice is perverted when judgment is pronounced based on someone being rich or poor; lowly or exalted; weak or powerful. Justice is about truth and righting wrongs, not about identity politics. Why? It’s central to the very character of God Who shows no partiality (Rom. 12:11). It’s wrong to favor any ethnic group or political persuasion when it comes to justice. That means that social justice isn’t justice. It’s evil to argue that justice can only be achieved by being partial to those who are “oppressed.” That’s opposed to the very character of God.

  Human justice will always be limited because it’s only human. We can’t right every wrong. Justice is impossible apart from moral absolutes. God laid out checks and balances in human justice because mankind apart from God can never practice justice fully. We’re contaminated by sin.

  God as Judge will ultimately bring about justice. No one gets away with anything. No evil will go unpunished. While we want the courts and governments to get it right, we know that sometimes they won’t. It’s why we need a perfect judge who executes perfect justice. This is only found in the God who is perfectly just. Before God all the world stands condemned. It’s only in the atoning sacrifice of Christ that we can be found just by the one who is the Justifier (Rom. 3:26). Ultimate justice will come in the end through God. Until then, we must rightly seek justice today, yet always keep an eye on the final coming judgment in the courts of heaven.

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.