From The Desk of David

The colors began pouring in. Red, blue, yellow and so on and so on. Each flag was laced with his own unique pattern and arrangement of colors and shapes, giving them each their own sense of individuality. I guess flags are like people, they all are unique and beautiful in their own way and I guess they even have their own story, where they come from, where they been, and even hopes and dreams for the future.

Those colors and geometric shapes were refreshing to see for in a world in which negativity has flooded our social media sites and our conversations – dividing us even more than we should be. It was refreshing to see all the differences and uniqueness come together under one roof and celebrate the fact that they were people. Different people, but people.

However, I couldn’t help myself when I saw all those flags. My mind wandered back to the sarcastic remarks that filled my Twitter timeline last night by the same people who now sat under this roof – under the sea of flags. Those sarcastic remarks were rebuking and criticizing people, people like the ones those flags represented, for their stances on the refugees. They laughed, they mocked those who believed that letting in refugees was the right thing to do.

Dear readers, this post is going to be controversial and to some, it might be downright offensive. But I can’t care if I hurt feelings when proclaiming the truth. I have to call hypocrisy when I see it. And if I am honest, this hypocrisy I am seeing in the church is making me sick to my stomach. Dear church, people are running and fleeing and cursing the name of Jesus all because we have gotten so high and mighty ourselves. It breaks my heart when I read the words of a girl who would rather reject Jesus then sit next to those “hypocritical Christians in their church pews.” My heart can’t take any more of this.

When the Lord called me into ministry, I accepted the fact that I would no longer do what was comfortable or what was popular. When I shared of my calling into ministry, there were some who called it stupid and irresponsible. But no matter, I decided that I would become what Paul called “a slave” to Jesus. That is what I have dedicated my life to be and that is why I’m writing this post because I believe, dear church, we are breaking the Lord’s, heart. So I guess I’ll go ahead and say it…

America isn’t the greatest nation. The kingdom of God is the greatest nation. And dear church, I think we’ve gotten these two mixed up. Our nationalism has become our idol. Now do not mishear what I say because I do believe in supporting my country, praying for my leaders, cheering on our servicemen and women who are braver than I’ll ever dare to be. My ultimate allegiance lies with Jesus, not with a man who resides in a big white house. And my dear fellow followers, this means obeying what I am commanded to do in the Bible, even if it means putting the American dream at risk.

They’ve dominated the news. People just can’t seem to stop talking about them. But my heart is breaking for them, these refugees face affliction, fear, and even death itself. The American leaders will tell you that these people come with threatening intentions, and while some may, I believe most are coming with tear-filled eyes because they have lost everything. They have lost their homes, their friends, and even some of their families to war-torn areas and power-hungry, vile leaders. And the ones who wrote the sarcastic comments on twitter, they accuse these refugees wanting nothing more than to hurt us, but I dare offer the only thing that these refugees want from us is our compassion.

Now I know man will not find favor in the words you are reading. I don’t care. I believe that caring for the refugees is what Jesus would want for us to do. For in the book of Matthew, Jesus tells us that “whatever you did for one of the least of these, brothers of mine, you did for me.” The refugees are the least of these in our society and it is our biblical duty to help them.

Now I’m not saying I have all the answers to immigration or border security because I don’t. But what I do know is that before our walls should be taller, our tables should be longer.

It’s global emphasis week here at Liberty and today I got the incredible honor to see what organizations are doing here and around the globe to help those in need. Oh, my soul, it was so refreshing to see people care for those who are considered the least. Giving water to kids in Africa. Rescuing young girls from sex trafficking. To building homes with those who have none in the slums of Haiti. Why can’t this be the church is known for? Why can’t we be known for compassion and willingness to help those who need help? But instead we are known for our marches against the sinners and our Bible thumping tendencies, to which we say to those who are like us, “you can’t be saved.” I don’t want to be known for marches and condemning people to a godless eternity. I want to be known as someone who cares for the sinners because it is in our acts of service that the name of Jesus will be made known to them.

So dear church, we must abandon our hypocritical ways. We must step down from our pulpits and step into the lives of the broken and the hurting. We must not build higher walls but rather we must build longer tables. Being a follower of Jesus isn’t an “us versus them” way of living, but rather it is an us serving them a way of living. We should be more willing to wash feet then push people away. Isn’t this the true way of living? Being willing to give before you get. It is seen in Scripture that abundant life is about giving away little pieces of yourself to multiply the kingdom of God.

Ann Voskamp once wrote about her observation of grain. In her book, “The Broken Way” Voskamp chronicled how her life as a farmer’s wife led her to realize that the only way to multiply is to divide. She tells of how one year she noticed a small grain had to break itself into pieces in order for more to grow. Voskamp goes on to share this pattern of nature should be the pattern of our hearts. You see when we give away our time and acts of service, we are making way for more to grow.

So before we close our doors and lock our windows, I think the refugees deserve a second look. I think they deserve our compassion and I think they deserve – no I know that they deserve to be cared for and loved unconditionally just as Jesus loved us. For when we deny them this, we degrade the act of the cross. We degrade the idea of grace itself because when we say to people we are going to let you in because you’re different than us, we are saying to the Lord that your grace doesn’t cover everyone – and that is a horrifying thought.

So dear church, I pray that we welcome refugees. Because we were once refugees, without a home for someone to love us until Jesus let us into His Kingdom.

For His Glory,
David