My Heart Breaks

I sit down to watch the news to find a special on the Syrian refugee crisis.  As I watch them pan the camera around a huge room full of cots I spot an infant climbing on one of the beds and suddenly I'm transported there.  This is my child, my reality.  Just a few months ago things got so bad I had to grab a backpack and decide which items in my home were of most importance.  What would give us a higher chance of survival?  I pack up items for my infant child and figure out how to carry all of this and leave my home.  I don't know exactly where I'm going, but all I know is anywhere is safer than here.  I pray we will find food before what we have runs out.  I hope there will be a place where we can find water along the way and maybe even a place to get out of the elements.  All I know is anywhere is safer than here.  I walk and walk for hundreds of miles carry the single bag we could hold and try to comfort my son only to find myself denied access to go any farther or get any help.  Or perhaps I do make it into a refugee camp and find myself gated into a room where I have generously been given a cot, some food, and water, but what kind of life is this for my child?  At least he's alive and, for the moment, safe, but where do we go from here?  Is this our life?  Relegated to a room full of cots?  And just like that I'm back in my living room sitting on my couch watching the news and weeping.  My son is safe and I am sitting well fed and hydrated with a roof over my head, but what of that woman's child?  What of her life?  What of her husband who looks at his family and cries inside wishing he could provide more for them?  I pray earnestly for them and can't even express the physical weight I feel at the thought of what those families are facing.

With all of this heartache I turn on social media only to find so many people saying such hateful things and expressing a desire to deny these people any peace, protection, or future.  And, yet again, my heart breaks.  This time not for the physical needs of people, but for spiritual needs.  Many of those I see fighting to keep these refugees away are Christians.  I read them and think, Have they forgotten?  What does God's Word say?  Has He ever commanded us to ignore those in need?  Quite the opposite!  Verse after verse, word after word commands us to love, show compassion, offer food, give shelter.  We are even told to pray for our enemies!  So how can we justify such hateful responses while still claiming to follow Christ's example?  (You do know Christian means "little Christ," right?)

The justification of many is they fear a terrorist will slip in through the cracks and harm us.  I understand that fear, but can I be blatantly honest with you?  If that is your thinking, the terrorists and our ultimate Enemy have already won.  You have allowed them to persuade you to turn your back on those in need (and God's Word) to fulfill the fleshly desire to protect your own at any cost.  Is it wrong to want your family safe?  Absolutely not!  But if your actions go against the Word of God, in my humble opinion, you are wrong.  Understand that everything I say I put myself in that position and wonder, could I do it?  Would I want a refugee family staying in my home?  How would I feel?  Perhaps it is the Lord's grace for me in this situation, but I would gladly take a family in, knowing this is what God calls me to do - provide shelter, food, water, protection, and love.  Would it be challenging?  Yes.  But I have chosen to trust that whatever the Lord calls me to do He has purpose for.  And He will give me the strength, provision, and protection needed to carry out His Will in my life and in my family's life.  I can only do this by placing my faith in Him alone, not on earthly securities, military power, or my own abilities. 

I typically stay away from controversial topics, but this particular one has broken my heart, both for the Syrian refugees and the state of Christianity in America.  I apologize if I stepped on any toes, but I felt it needed to be said.  And if you are offended, I encourage you to go to Scripture and let me know if I have said anything that does not align with God's Word. 

Finally, I want to encourage you to read a wonderful article put out by Relevant Magazine entitled "What the Bible says About How to Treat Refugees."  The article is simply a list of verses with a one sentence header for each summarizing what action that verse calls us to take.  You can find the article here.

"When they had seen Him . . . "

First, a completely unrelated thought - Some days we feel so close to and on fire for God and the next day He feels distant.  Don't be discouraged, for God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8).  He never changes!  When we feel distant, we shouldn't give up or think He has left us, for those who ask, receive; those who seek, find; and those who knock find the door opened (Luke 11:10).

Now back to those shepherds (Luke 2:8-20):

Another thought to ponder - why shepherds?  There were plenty of other "common" people around.  Many people were in Bethlehem because of the census, yet God called some shepherds who were tending their flocks in a field outside of the city.  At the moment, the most logical answer for me is that God announced His Son's birth to shepherds first because Jesus would be the ultimate shepherd, laying down His life for His flock (John 10:11).

The next lesson came from Luke 2:17.  I have a passion for discipleship.  I love to support, encourage, and share in others' walks with Christ.  There is nothing more exciting than to see someone seek out and run full-force towards Him.  But the shepherds reminded me of something very important.  Notice the order of events in this verse.  "When they had seen Him . . . "  The first step was to encounter Christ for themselves.  They heard what they angels said, but before they told anyone else, they went to see for themselves.  It was only after they had that experience that they "spread the word concerning Him."  The crucial first step in living a life all-out for Christ is encountering Him for ourselves.  We cannot rely on the faith of our parents, grandparents, friends, etc.  We can't "ride their coattails" along this journey of faith.  We must make it our own by having our own encounter and experience with Christ. 

Finally, the shepherds' story ends in Scripture by saying they saw everything "just as they had been told" (Luke 2:20).  Our God is a God of Truth.  We can trust what He says!!

Reading Christ

Rather than give something up for Lent (something I typically don't "celebrate" anyway), I chose to add something this year . . . well, actually, a couple things.  The most important, however, is my goal to spend more and deeper time with the Lord and His Word each day.  While this is often quite a challenge with my schedule, I find that when I do take the time to just sit before my Bible and the Lord, amazing things happen - my eyes are opened, my heart is filled, and my soul overflows with joy.  While reading a passage in Galatians today (I'll share more later) I was suddenly struck by the thought that when I read Scripture I am literally reading and encountering CHRIST!  Check this out:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen His glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.  - John 1:1, 14

Did you catch it?  The "Word became flesh and lived among us."  That's Christ!  Christ was the Word that came to earth to rescue us from ourselves.  That means when I begin to read the Word and dig into it for truth, I am reading in Christ!  How amazing! No wonder my eyes are opened and my soul is overjoyed!  :)