Exodus 22:21  “You must not mistreat or oppress foreigners in any way. Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.” (NLT)

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Every now and then, someone treats me like I don’t belong. This doesn’t happen often, but when it does, an extra measure of patience and kindness is required to respond appropriately. Sometimes, such patience is more challenging than others. 

A new presidential administration is underway. One of the matters of first importance to the incoming president is deporting immigrants who have entered the country illegally, particularly those who have committed crimes on USA soil. 

The last meaningful immigration reform measures were passed during President Ronald Reagan’s second term. A person will look at what has happened in the intervening years and justifiably wonder why nothing has been done since. A cynic might note how each political party makes a lot of money for election campaigns by keeping things as they are. 

An acquaintance came to the USA when she was a young child. She did not decide to come. She had no say in what her family did to escape the dangerous place where they legally belonged. This little girl didn’t realize she wasn’t a full-fledged Texan. Almost everything she can remember about her life comes from her life in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Since becoming aware of her legal status, she has done everything possible to become a citizen of the United States. She works full-time, pays taxes, and waits in line to sing along with Lee Greenwood. A few years ago, she married a young man who grew up in one of those cold states in the northeastern United States. She has worked in several ministry and business positions. 

She brings light, life, and peace into every room she enters. 

Teeming masses still yearn to breathe free. This is a good time to separate in our minds the immigrants committing heinous crimes from those who genuinely want to be here for all the right reasons.

A family from Sri Lanka worked together to run a restaurant. They were so joyful in their new homeland. They were free. They made, saved, and spent their own money doing honorable work that blessed their community. The children excel in school and prepare for a special future by doing significant work. 

They are the happiest Canadians I’ve ever met. 

A new spin is placed on immigration when we hear God’s heart on the matter. Notice how he connects how we treat widows and orphans in these verses about how we treat the foreigners living among us:

“You must not exploit a widow or an orphan. If you exploit them in any way and they cry out to me, then I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will blaze against you, and I will kill you with the sword. Then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭22‬:‭22‬-‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God loves everyone, and so should we. To love as God loves is to seek God’s highest and best for everyone, including foreigners, immigrants, widows, and orphans. When we study how Christianity spread across the world, much of what made it attractive to those around them was how they treated the least, the last, and the lost. 

Maybe in our prayers for revival in our churches and awakening in our land, we should pray about the best possible outcomes for immigrants, widows, and orphans. Maybe we should ask God for a heart like his toward those who are so vulnerable to injustice through no fault of their own. 

The political atmosphere makes all of this unnecessarily complicated and contentious. God loves immigrants. His desires for them are just and merciful. He commands us to extend his Good News to everyone everywhere, regardless of political worldviews. Revelation 7:9 declares 

After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands.
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭7‬:‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God loves every people group and wants them to know and experience his highest and best gifts. He invites them into his eternal home. 

We, as God’s people, should work for just laws that are adequately enforced. We should provide compassionate care for every person regardless of legal status or political affiliation. We can and should do both. May God’s will be done in America as it is in heaven.

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I will help all people from everywhere discover and embrace the Good News of Jesus with all of its implications and applications.

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Our Father, help us love everyone the way you do. Empower us to provide your highest and best gifts for all people. May each person we encounter feel welcome to receive Kingdom status regardless of their national heritage, legal standing, or political affiliation. Amen.