Immigrants and Immigration: Gratitude and Immigration – The Law of God and Public Policy

Immigrants and Immigration: Gratitude and Immigration
The Law of God and Public Policy

Addressing the immigration “problem” begins in thanksgiving.

“For the LORD your God is a God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore….” Deuteronomy 10:17-19

Some of us may struggle to thank God for immigrants—including “illegal aliens.” But we must not fail to thank Him—in private and in public—for what the continuing stream of immigrants to this country represents: America is still, for all our failings and shortcomings, the nation most abundantly blessed of God of all the nations of the world. And for this, every Christian should be more outspokenly grateful at every summons to thanksgiving that comes to our attention, including the present “crisis” of immigration.

The Christian community must not respond to the present crisis over immigration policy as, in the first instance, a matter of politics. If we do not lead the nation to remember that immigrants are indicators, first and foremost, of the continuing blessings of God on this nation, then we will struggle ever to be able to lead the nation in addressing public policies relating to this question from a more Biblical perspective.

Responding to the crisis of immigration with such a perspective and posture—with thanksgiving—may help us to recommend a new approach to crafting public policies more in line with the teaching of God’s Law.

Anyone can complain. Anyone can criticize. Anyone can condemn. Only the Christian, who sees the events and trials of this nation through the eyes of faith, can greet every crisis with an upturned eye and a bent knee. The “flood” of immigrants we keep hearing about is flowing this way because of the blessings of God. Insist on this, and your opinion might be greeted with wide agreement.

From there, then, you might be able to share a bit more about what this wise and good God teaches about how to deal with the immigration crisis in this blessed land.

Visit our website, www.ailbe.org, and sign up to receive our thrice-weekly devotional, Crosfigell, featuring writers from the period of the Celtic Revival and T. M.’s reflections on Scripture and the Celtic Christian tradition. Does the Law of God still apply today? Order a copy of T. M.’s book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, and study the question for yourself.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T. M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.