You Welcomed Me: Seven Days to Better Welcoming Refugees and ImmigrantsSample

Are we for or against?

The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned. -Maya Angelou, All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes

When I was writing, "You Welcomed Me," a book about welcoming refugees and immigrants, I had a conversation with my then 8-year old son. At the end of the conversation he asked me this question:

“Wait, Dad. Are we for them or against them?”

How we answer this question reveals a lot about what kind of family, community, church, and country we want to be. This topic is complex and often divisive, with many nuances and real concerns. Welcoming involves a cost. But, there is usually a cost to being our best selves––and it’s ultimately worth the price. So, how do we as followers of Christ answer this question?

Scripture makes the answer seem pretty clear: we’re for them. Why? Because God loves us––all of us. In scripture, Jesus continues to emphasize the care of our neighbors, especially those who are oppressed. He showed the importance of “loving our neighbor as ourselves” when he elevated that new command to be on the same level with “love the Lord your God,” (Mark 12:30-31). In another example, Jesus shared a parable about a King talking to his servants, some of whom were welcoming to him and others who weren’t. Neither party recognized when they were serving the King or turning him away and so they asked for clarification. And this was his response: “Whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me,” (Matthew 25:40). We’re for them because Jesus is for them and he called us into a life of love.

Practice: How to Understand Your Own Reaction

• First, become aware of God’s presence. God loves you and welcomes you in your wonderfulness, brokenness, selfishness, fear, and beauty. You are welcome in God’s presence.
• When the issue of refugees or immigrants comes up in the media or in conversation, where do you find your spirit responding for refugees and immigrants, and where does it respond against? This is private and you’re invited to be honest with God and yourself. What reaction do you find in yourself toward refugees and immigrants? Where does love flow freely? What makes you feel resistance?
• Spend time thinking about where your love for immigrants and refugees flows freely, and feel grateful for that flow. Then consider areas where love feels blocked by some sort of fear or objection and take time with God to pay attention to the emotion or argument and understand why. We want God’s love guiding us.
• Choose one aspect of the uncomfortable or love-blocking feelings or thoughts that rose to the top and pray that God would guide you in the way of welcoming. 
• Look toward tomorrow, guided by the reality that you are beloved and you are called to love. Amen