Welcoming the Stranger: A Gospel Response to Immigration

Every week, it seems, in the schools my boys attend, students are protesting over immigration rights. Parents have been given information cards to counter deportation threats from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.).

The current presidential administration has placed a freeze on Christian agencies such as World Relief, which welcomes refugees. And even the church is often split on this matter, including members in my own congregation who have voiced their concerns. Christ-followers, though, must remain grounded in the gospel even as we tackle difficult topics such as immigration.

And we seek to make a difference in the lives of immigrants when God brings them into our sphere of ministry (Acts 17:24-27).

Opportunities or Threats?

Consider the immigrants we encounter in the Scriptures: Abraham in Canaan; Moses in Midian; Ruth—a Moabitess who found herself in Israel; Joseph—a young man sold into slavery by his brothers. Human trafficking brought Joseph to Egypt before he brought the rest of his family.

Even our Lord Jesus, as a child, was forced to flee as a refugee from Palestine (Matthew 2:13–15). Many important events in biblical history have hinged on people’s migration from one land to another.

Notice, however, in Joseph’s life, the differing responses of the Egyptian Pharaohs. One viewed Hebrew migration as an opportunity, while the other saw it as a threat. In Genesis 41, the first Pharaoh recognized that Joseph, an immigrant, brought with him valuable skills and wisdom which could help his nation...

Neighbors or Competitors?

We in America today have a similar choice: Do we view the presence of 40 million migrants as an opportunity or a threat? Those who see opportunity recognize that undocumented immigrants are statistically less likely to commit violent crimes...

The Bible exhorts the people of God to welcome the stranger into their community. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word ger is used 92 times to describe the “stranger” who temporarily resides in a nation not his own...

For example, the parable of the Good Samaritan describes our response to a neighbor in need (Luke 10:25–37). And God instructs us to welcome the stranger as we might welcome Christ himself (Matthew 25:31–46): “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (v. 35).

Our Father has a heart of compassion and justice for those who are hurting and tells us throughout the Scriptures of his special concern. As the psalmist writes, “The LORD watches over [the immigrants]” (Psalm 146:9)...

Welcoming the stranger (the “immigrant” we could say today) is the most often repeated commandment in the Hebrew Scriptures, with the exception of the imperative to worship only the one God. And the love of neighbor (especially the more vulnerable neighbor) is doubtlessly the New Testament’s constant command...

We may hold different political views about this matter and we can still lobby for immigration reform. Yet, as Christians, our heart attitude toward immigrants must be like our heavenly Father’s.

Instead of fearing them as threats to our nation, we must see them with compassion, love them as our neighbors, and welcome them as an opportunity for the gospel to display the glory of God.