By Mark A. Taylor
What is Christian Standard”s position on immigration? Read carefully the articles, opinions, and interviews posted at our site this week before you decide the answer to that question. You”ll see that our writers don”t always agree with each other, so any one of them does not speak for all the rest””or for Christian Standard.
That diversity of opinion among Bible-believing followers of Christ is one reason we”ve tackled this topic. We fear that too many Christians have come quickly to their conclusions without considering counter views from others who also love God.
And some Christians haven”t thought much about the problem at all.
Even though we know an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants live in the United States, it”s convenient to believe they don”t live in my neighborhood, don”t shop at my supermarket, don”t attend my local school, don”t work in my community. But this likely isn”t true. If two issues of this magazine can cause readers to see the immigrants around them, we will have accomplished something important.
Troy Jackson this week tells one immigrant”s story. Next week we”ll introduce you to several more undocumented persons who have been helped by concerned Christians. In some cases, the helpers knew they were helping an undocumented person or family. In others, they didn”t know. Their example challenges us to consider our own attitudes and actions toward the immigrants among us.
As one writer points out this week, the influx of immigrants has brought the world to the communities where we live. These folks for whom Christ died are looking for jobs, for hope, for someone who will help them navigate a complicated society whose language they may not understand. It”s not difficult to determine how Christ would have us respond to them: “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12).
What is Christian Standard”s position on immigration? As a rule we don”t make pronouncements on political or legal issues, and that”s not our purpose here. As more than one writer this week and next says, the issues are complicated and the solutions are not easy.
But surely every reader can agree on this position: Let”s show love, Christian love, to immigrants. If we must ask about their status, let that not be the first question. We may be the best or only way for the immigrants around us to experience the peace and purpose we have discovered in our Lord. That”s Christian Standard”s position on immigration.
The recent articles on immigration raise many questions.
Are US immigration laws unjust and unreasonable? How do they compare with those of other countries? And what does Jesus mean by “render unto Caesar what is Caesar”™s”? Does this apply only to taxes?
Does God consider it a sin when our immigration laws are broken?
Or.. is it sinful when Americans, and especially Christians, expect our laws to be respected?
Should illegal immigrants, upon becoming followers of Christ, be encouraged to apply for legal status? If not, why not, and how does this comport with Matt 22:21 or Mark 12:17? What would Jesus do?
Is the Standard trying to influence our thinking on this difficult issue when it refers to “˜illegal immigration”™ merely as “˜immigration”™? I expect this kind of manipulation from the media, but I hold the Standard to a higher standard, no pun intended.
I react similarly to articles that equate illegal immigrants to Joseph, Mary and Jesus in Egypt or Abraham in Canaan. Really?
I believe America is all about immigration””but that would be LEGAL immigration. Are we as Christians to encourage illegal immigration until America is indistinguishable from the country the immigrants are so desperate to leave? I”™m reminded of the medical facilities in California that were required by law to treat illegal immigrants until they were forced to close their doors due to bankruptcy. Is that what we want for America? Is this what God requires of us?