Immigrants and Immigration: Some Suggestions
The Law of God and Public Policy
Here are some aspects of an approach to immigration reform.
“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
The Law of God was given to Israel to guide the people of God in learning how to love Him and their neighbors. The Law was not intended as yoke or burden, keeping people from the things they really want to do. It was designed to encourage justice, order, safety, and love within the communities of Israel, and to serve as a witness to the surrounding nations.
We’ve seen that God has much to say about “strangers and sojourners” who, observing His blessings on Israel, come to wander among them for a season or even to make Israel their permanent home. When God blesses a people, the nations can’t help but notice, and many will seek those blessings for themselves.
We take pride in the fact that ours is a “nation of immigrants.” But, unless we turn to the counsel of God’s Law, that pride in “strangers and sojourners” could turn into suspicion, scorn, and even hate. The Law of God can guide us in thinking about how we as a nation can love those who come to us from other countries with the kind of love that finds favor with God.
Here, based on the brief survey of God’s Law we have been examining in preceding installments, are some thoughts about how to proceed in the work of immigration reform in America today. These guidelines can be transformed into meaningful public policies, if believers are willing to take seriously their role as “we the people” in helping to improve the way we are governed:
Many of these ideas are already being discussed. The fact that they are should encourage us in two ways—first, that we can join these conversations and make a positive contribution; and, second, that the Law of God remains a potent source of insight and counsel in helping us to bring the blessings of God to our nation.
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.
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