Rebecca Florence Miller
Most of the refugees went to Albania to escape the genocide. But many also went to Germany and Italy. If the Kosovar borders had been closed, if other countries hadn’t been willing to take a chance on the Kosovar Albanian people, thousands more might have been slaughtered. Yes, they were Muslim. And yes, this was pre-9/11. But it still took people, administrations, governments, and more to make it possible for the refugees to escape with their lives.
The people who slaughtered them professed to be Christians, and yet these Muslims graciously and courageously chose to open their hearts and their lives to aid from Christian organizations. They had more reason to be afraid of us than we had to be afraid of them.
Here is my take on the current refugee crisis: Yes, our government should do its best to vet those who are applying for asylum and refugee status. But we, as Christians, should never be so afraid of any group of people that we let it interfere with our willingness to help those in need. Jesus never called us to only meet the needs of those who are considered “safe” by others in society. Christ would never have turned his back on anyone who was sincerely needing help.
How do we know which Syrian refugees are sincere and which are not? We don’t. Only God can judge the hearts of others. That is not our job. Our job is to be the hands and feet of our Lord while we live on this earth.
If you have not worked personally with refugees, the mystery of another religion and culture can be intimidating–even downright frightening. But I think American Christians should be more like my Muslim Kosovar Albanian friends, willing to put aside any preconceived notions about a group of people, despite what had been done to them in the name of another’s god. To look beyond fear and take a chance on someone who looks and acts differently. If we follow the example of the Muslims in Kosovo (and more importantly, the example of Jesus), we will be able to respond with love and hospitality no matter what we have endured–or fear enduring–at the hands of others.
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P.S. Please also note that I am not a scientist, but a person with expertise in theology and the arts. While I am very interested in the relationship between science and faith, I do not believe I personally will be able to adequately address the many questions that inevitably come up related to science and religion. I encourage you to seek out the writings of theistic or Christian scientists to help with those discussions.
Image source: Stephen Luke via Flickr. License.
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