When Queen Esther was faced with an intolerable situation among her people, she had a choice to make. And her cousin, Mordecai, told her this, “For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Such a time as this for me has to do with children. My heart aches and the Mama Bear in me is appalled (even that is not a strong enough word) at the way our government is treating the families of immigrants who are seeking asylum in this country. People who are trying to escape the violence in their countries of origin and are having their children ripped from their arms.
In a recent news conference our attorney general quoted Scripture to justify this zero tolerance practice and the separation of families. Such use of Scripture taken out of context and misapplied does not give us a “pass” to make this all seem justified and acceptable to God. In fact, the opposite is true.
Jesus taught us to love our neighbor–yes, that even means the ones across our borders. And Jesus puts a high value on children, warning anyone who would harm them that He does not take such actions lightly. We risk more than we realize when we treat people the way this nation is treating these children and their families.
To take this a step further–in the Old Testament God told Israel to care for the orphan and the widow and the foreigner. Read about the cities of refuge God told the people to set up to protect those who needed protection. Read about how they weren’t supposed to harvest the corners of their fields so that the poor would have food to eat.
I’m seriously appalled at how we can look at our rich nation and think we cannot possibly give to someone who is being oppressed elsewhere. I get it that we need to vet those who would sneak into our country and seek to harm us. I’m not discounting that. But when was the last time you saw a toddler plan to do violence to someone? And from what I have read, these children have no legal representation to help them in court.
Has our greed brought us to a place where we cannot even help the orphan and widow and foreigner who are running for safety? We have so much to give. Are we really that unwilling to give so little?
If I had a child ripped from my arms simply because I asked for asylum in a place I considered safe, I would be completely devastated. And there are over 2000 children now separated from their families for that very reason. I’ve read that the number could rise to 4000 this year.
If even one of us as citizens of this country found ourselves in the same position as those seeking refuge, would we not want tolerance and kindness shown to us? What ever happened to “do to others as you would have them do to you?”
I do not expect leaders who do not know Christ to show the compassion of Christ, but not every politician is without faith. Those who lead and do not speak for those who have no voice do our entire country a disservice.
Christians cannot sit by and claim innocence when the evidence is blaring before us.
There are people who are better organized than I am who are working to help these people, and I would urge you to check out these websites:
I would also urge you to vet them as best you can. I have not checked them thoroughly. These are just some suggestions.
Then I would urge you to pray. Pray for these displaced families. Pray for our nation, our attitudes that have turned people away from God because we ourselves are not always walking in truth. I am not pointing fingers. I have been learning that the spiritual buck stops with me too. I need to obey the Lord and care more for the things and the people God loves.
And we need to obey Him. We need to do whatever we can physically or financially or politically if that’s our calling, to help. Jesus called the little children to come to Him. Jesus cares for the orphan and the widow and the foreigner. If we understand Scripture, we see His heart for people written on every page. He loves us. He loves everyone else as much as He loves each of us.
How do we think He feels about the way these people are being treated? We are acting like they are prisoners and housing them in cages. I don’t know every particular, but I’ve read enough to be fearful for us. Are we adding one sin upon another? How can we justify taking children from loving families?
This issue is beyond politics. This is most definitely a human rights violation.
And there is no excuse or even one good reason for the way things are being handled.
We were once a nation of refugees seeking asylum. My ancestors were among them. I can bet most of yours were too.
We don’t have a right to act like suddenly this land is ours.
All things belong to God.
We are simply the caretakers of His world.
And we owe a debt of love to the people He created.
God help us.
Selah~
#StopSeparatingFamilies #togetherrising #livegrace #lovelikeJesusloves #helptheforeigner #showgracetotheoppressed #dountoothersasyouwouldhavethemdotoyou
