The best resource I have found so far regarding the refugee crisis is a book called Seeking Refuge: on the Shores of the Global Refugee Crisis. It is especially helpful for Christians since it is written through an evangelical and biblical lens. The authors of the book are from World Relief and are experienced in serving the refugee community– they speak an urgent message to today’s Christians with biblical wisdom in regards to the current refugee crisis.
This post is not word for word from Seeking Refuge, but communicates some of the content and builds off the thoughts and structure of the book’s chapter entitled “Jesus was a Refugee”.
What do Jesus and refugees have in common?
The UNHCR (united nations high commissioner for refugees) definition of a refugee is “a person who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war or violence.”
Matthew chapter 2:13-15 (after the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem) says “Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’ And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I called by son.’”
1. Jesus was a refugee, as were Joseph and Mary. Jesus and his family fled to another country due to the threat of death from the government. Herod was on a rampage to kill all the male children in the region because he was seeking to kill Christ!
Let me say that again. If you are a Christian, the person who is the cornerstone of your faith, Jesus Christ is not only God in the flesh but was himself a refugee. Jesus and his family stayed in Egypt until Herod died. Mary and Joseph were afraid to return to Judea because Herod’s son was the reigning king and they were warned in a dream not to go back. Thus, they went to the district of Galilee, back to Mary’s town of Nazareth.
This is a beautiful fact because it reveals to two things. First, if Jesus was himself a refugee, aren’t refugees, foreigners, and immigrants near to his heart? Since our Savior qualified as a refugee, isn’t it important for us to discuss refugees as the universal church and the local church? Additionally, this means that as Seeking Refuge points out “the millions of refugees in our world have an advocate in Jesus.” How wonderful is this truth?
“He (Jesus) was made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest” (Heb 2:17) Jesus can empathize with refugees in their suffering.
Seeking Refuge points out also that other important characters in the Bible were refugees: Moses fled from Egypt, Jacob fled from his hometown for the threat of violence from his brother. David fled from King Saul. The prophet Elijah fled into the wilderness. In the New Testament, the earliest followers of Jesus were forced to scatter because of persecution. How is that for a lineup of world changers who were refugees?
2. Jesus not only was a refugee, but he teaches us how to respond to refugees and foreigners.
Leviticus 19:34 says “the foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”
Deuteronomy 10:18-19 “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who were foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.”
Matthew 25:35-36; 40 “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
Galatians 5:13-14 “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge in the flesh; rather serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself‘”
In the book of Luke, an expert in the law asked Jesus “who is my neighbor?” Jesus replies with the parable of the good Samaritan in which he describes the story of different travelers on the same road encountering an injured man who is in need. The “holy” and “important” people pass him by but the Samaritan stops and helps him. Jesus concludes the parable by saying being a neighbor means loving him who is in need.
Jesus emphasized God’s original commands whenever he taught. He taught the disciples, through God’s original commands + stories they could understand, how to treat the foreigner. Thus, he teaches us too, through his words to the disciples, his actions, and the disciples’ ministry after spending time with him- how to treat foreigners-who are in need and/or residing among us. And that is, to love them.
Refugees have been through tremendous trauma, trial, and persecution. They are indeed greatly in need. As the church in America, who ought to make its foundation the word of God, we are taught through Jesus’s life and words to love refugees.
3. Jesus teaches us that we were once foreigners.
A recurring theme of the bible is the citizenship of heaven. Jesus came and preached to Jews and Gentiles, to those close in proximity to him and those far away. We were once aliens to the Kingdom of God, but through Christ, we are now undeservedly citizens of Heaven. From this gospel-grounded approach, we can love foreigners in our land with a depth not possible in our mere humanity. We can approach them from a place of gratitude, humility, compassion, and fullness- because we were once fleeing from the realm of darkness and sin, not citizens of the heavenly country, but we now find refuge in the person of Jesus Christ.
Eph 2:19 “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of his household.”
We can also relate to them in the longing for home. As believers of Christ, heaven is our home, and we are not there yet. We long for this country, yet we are in a different country. The kingdom of heaven is the kingdom of ultimate justice and love. No earthly country can compare. Although we can never completely understand all that the refugee has suffered, through our spiritual longing for home, we can in some way relate to refugees physical longing for their home country.
Seeking Refuge discusses that we are all made in the image of God, the Imago Dei, and thus are of inherent value and worthy of love. In addition to being of inherent worth, refugees have potential to be an asset and a blessing to our societies because they are made in the image of God and have God given gifts to offer their communities. Many of our refugee patients at Ardas are entrepreneurs- they have opened grocery stores, food trucks, restaurants, day-cares, and home health agencies. I have many friends at the Mango House (the building where I work) from refugee families who are now serving their community in incredibly meaningful ways.
Refugees in America are business owners, translators, authors, English teachers, front office managers, nurses, medical assistants, aspiring Physician Assistants and Physician Assistants, aspiring doctors and practicing doctors. Refugees open our eyes to the world and to real, tangible suffering. They are a living example of resilience in the face of adversity. For Christians, loving them is not only obedience to God’s command to love our neighbor, but it is an immense blessing.
For our country, they are not a drain on the economy, they are an asset and a blessing. Christians in America will be blessed if they love these diverse neighbors of ours.
Many refugees in America are Christians, and we have the unique opportunity to love these persecuted brothers and sisters as well as learn from their faith which has been made vibrant through persecution.
As evangelical Christians, we also have a responsibility to love non-Christians. Matthew 28:19-20 says “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
God has historically moved people geographically so that they may have the opportunity to know him (see Acts 17:27). God in his sovereignty brings good out of bad situations and opportunity out of evil, and he uses us, his church, as his hands and feet of love and service. As we act in love and service to our refugee neighbors we will have many opportunities to give an answer for the hope that we have, with gentleness and respect- and that hope is in Jesus (1 Peter 3:15).
If you don’t personally know a refugee, It could be one of a few reasons – confusion around the politics, you are already overwhelmed and busy, or there are not any refugees in your area.
I am not going to talk about politics. But I will assure you that refugees ARE legal immigrants, they are safe, loving, kind, and worthy human beings. If any of your reasons for not knowing a refugee are because you have believed any of the myths that they are illegal immigrants, unsafe, terrorists, or unworthy of your love- PLEASE know this is not the truth!
Brothers and sisters, read what your bibles say about loving the foreigner, do some research, let me know what questions you have, or read the book – Seeking Refuge. This is TOO URGENT and TOO BIG a crisis to stay uninformed and stuck in politics and myths instead of the truth of the situation.
Another reason many people may not know refugees is because of the overwhelming nature of it all. With all the talk about who to let in, who not to let in, we have distorted the view of refugees to numbers and groups of people. We have talked about how many and what kind of refugees we should let in. I would argue, that this kind of talk can be overwhelming and paralyzing.
Maybe to our governments, refugees are numbers or groups of a certain religion. But to us as individuals, they are human beings- they are mothers, fathers, sons, daughters- with names, faces, feelings, stories, and souls.
You do not have to give up your job and devote your life to refugees (although that is wonderful and I am so grateful for all those who have). Instead of going to extremes, for now, let’s think a little smaller, but not any less impactful. Ask yourself and ask God, what is ONE thing that I can do?
- Could you befriend ONE refugee individual?
- Do you know if there are even any in your community? start there, find out.
- If you have a family, could you befriend ONE refugee family?
- Could you get involved in ONE local organization serving refugees?
If you do not have refugees in your area, there are still things you can do to participate in loving and serving them!
- Find out who is serving refugees in your social circle, ask ONE friend HOW YOU CAN HELP (THIS IS HUGE).
- Pray!- pray for ONE friend you know who is serving refugees. Pray for ONE people group you know to be refugees.
- Donate to an organization who is serving refugees.
- Learn: read a book (by a refugee, or about a refugee), take a class, read some websites (World Relief, Project Worthmore, UNHCR, Partners International, International Rescue Committee).
- PRAY FOR GOD TO SHOW YOU WHAT TO DO!
Let’s not get overwhelmed by the numbers, confused by politics, or be comfortable staying uninformed. Pray about the ONE thing that you can do to love a refugee neighbor. I am with you friend, praying for you, and confident that you are able, equipped by Christ, to do his good work of loving your neighbor as yourself. I know you will be blessed in this endeavor.
The refugee crisis IS overwhelming to think about, but obedience to God’s command to love our neighbor is as simple as saying yes. You are not saying yes to all 22.5 million refugees, you are saying yes to your neighbor in need, one person at a time.
