Lawdy. I don't even know where to start. Do you ever find yourself in a situation where you are flustered and just don't have the words to say? Perhaps there's a sudden rush of feelings (sadness, excitement, nervousness, anger) and BOOM! You're dumfounded and struck silent. Generally, these moments reel me into a surge of internal processing where my brain hits high octane trying to make sense of it all. I've never been a verbal processor. Quite the opposite. It takes TIME and lots of it for me to make sense of all that's bouncing around in there. I like to keep it inside and try to organize it all into its nice neat compartments before it comes spilling out. Hence why this blog post will seem a little late to the game. Needless to say, I am one of many voices and a bit tardy at that, but I felt like just the act of writing these thoughts down would be helpful to make some sense of it all.
So, here I go. Hit the hot topic button and hold on for dear life.
Refugees.
Just let the word sink in. It's been so laden lately. This single word can provoke sympathy, anger, disdain, indifference, action, and the list goes on. We've all been up in arms in regards to the issue and have found ourselves standing off against one another. There are political opinions, religious opinions, humanitarian opinions, and the "y'all are all crazy" opinions. The biggest struggle has been seeing the political and religious opinions begin to clash. In the name of Christ or in the name of Democracy--it's all gotten a bit muddled. As a person of faith, I can't help but have thoughts on it all. Here are just a few:
-We have an individual and communal responsibility to live out our faith and impact society around us...BUT it gets tricky when we think about how the government gets all mixed up in that. We want things to go a certain way politically, but regardless of the outcome, our obligation stays the same. We must live out our faith. We must follow in the example of Christ. We must serve, we must love, we must obey. By following the example of Christ, I learn how to fulfill a purpose in the midst of a trying political environment. During His day, things were corrupt. There was an outside ruler. The Jewish people wanted a Rescuer to sweep them into utopia. Yet, this was not His calling. He came not to force a governmental rule, but to set people free. He lived out peace, justice, mercy and love. He fulfilled God's will despite (and with the help of) the political climate. So, regardless of what my governor decides, I know what I must do. I must love. I must serve. I must trust God.
-Trust. It's a difficult thing. Times are scary and we are full of fear. We can't protect ourselves (we never could, in reality). We fear the what if's and the could be's. We are so "in touch" with what's going on in the world, we hear of a new horrific thing happening every few seconds it seems. This has the effect of both numbing us and pushing us to the edge. The crazy thing is, we fear what we know to be real. Terrorism is real. Evil is real. And it can come knocking any time.
We also know this first hand. Not only did we experience 9/11, but we can go even further back to see the history of violence in our nation. From the beginning, we set the stage to take, pillage, and destroy. Our forefathers came to this country as refugees themselves, fleeing their homeland in the hopes of receiving religious freedom and new opportunities. Soon enough, these refugees were taking over the land and oppressing the natives, almost pushing them to the extent of extinction. We set up our own government and put our stake in the ground and became the United States. So, unfortunately, the story of refugees taking over the country that harbors them is not that far from home.
-So, as much as it makes sense to be afraid at times, we can't sit in that feeling. We'll miss out on all the good stuff! There is no part of me that tries to put on rose colored glasses, so let me just be up front. a) This could be an opportunity to serve. If your state receives refugees, this is a chance to reflect the light of Christ. How many of us would have the opportunity to travel to Syria (or any other war-torn country)? Jesus told us to go to the nations, and now the nations are coming to US. What a cool chance to serve and learn from one another. b) This whole situation has raised awareness about the needs of refugees. The reality is many states accept refugees from various places all over the world already. Here's a chance to get involved and learn more. Check out organizations in your area that work with refugees such as World Relief. Find ways to get involved.
Ultimately, it's not only refugees who are in need, as many have mentioned this week. There are people next door, down the street, across the hall that are in need. What will we do about it? As I close, I can't help but have Matthew 25 ringing in my head. May I live out my faith by finding those, wherever they may be, or wherever they may come from, to visit, feed, clothe, and look after.
"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, 36 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.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’"
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