How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things.
(Romans 10:14-15 KJV)
My family and I were in Fargo ND. the other day. We hadn't been there in quite some time, and were quite surprised to see the large number of Muslim immigrants shopping along side of us. We were not aware that so many had settled in this area. We have also heard that there are other communities nearby that have a large Muslim presence in them also.
I am aware that a large segment of American citizens are opposed to this. They voice concerns for safety, concerns about jobs and welfare. There is a general fear of terrorist activity related to the influx of these immigrants, and as a result, people are demanding that we close our borders. Sadly, a great number of professed evangelical Christians seem to be loudly at the forefront of these demands. They, like all the others, are concerned about terrorism, jobs, giving "handouts" to undeserving refugees, and the like.
I would like to look at this from a totally different standpoint. As Christians, this life is not supposed to be about us. Our lives as Christians are not supposed to revolve around our material prosperity, or maintaining our physical safety either. A safe and secure country with carefully guarded borders is not what Jesus has in mind for those who would truly follow Him. As Christians we have been given the awesome task of going into all the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ (Matt 28:18-20; Mark 16:15). We serve Jesus Christ as citizens of His heavenly kingdom. The business of His kingdom is to be the all consuming business of our lives (Matt 6:33). How can we claim to be His followers, intent upon advancing His kingdom, while we cry out at the same time to close our borders, desiring to keep these "dangerous" people out? Things like this were never upon the minds of the early Church as they fearlessly advanced the gospel, even at the cost of their very lives. The desire to glorify God by bringing souls into His kingdom burned within their hearts. They were compelled to go.
There are many who have not yet obeyed the command of Jesus to go. For those of us who have not yet gone, perhaps Jesus is bringing the mission field home to us.....?
I live in Finland. I am not politically active, but during the last 6 months, I have written 3 letter to the Prime minister of Finland, and my message has been: do NOT let muslims to immigrate to Finland. I have read and seen videos what some muslim immigrants have done in some European countries.
ReplyDeleteSome quotes from Matt Danielsson's text, Swedish Police Release Extensive Report Detailing Control Of 55 ‘No-Go Zones’ By Muslim Criminal Gangs, published 11/02/2014
”Swedish police have ceded control over 55 “no-go zones” to predominately Muslim criminal gangs.
An extensive report mapping out 55 no-go zones was released Oct. 24, showing where law enforcement has all but handed control to criminal gangs.
Officers frequently face outright attacks when trying to enter the areas, which is a step up from the previous problem with attacks on mailmen, fire trucks, ambulances and similar services. Fire trucks and ambulances had to wait for police escort to enter the areas, but now the police themselves need protection.
The no-go areas heavily coincide with the map of the 186 “exclusion areas” aka. crowded, predominantly Muslim immigrant ghettos, ” ...
Others seek active confrontation with police to establish absolute dominance.
A pair of policemen in May were in pursuit of a suspect and unwisely entered the no-go zone of the southern city of Landskrona. Their car was rammed and the officers were forced out of the car. They were cornered by a crowd of some 50 hostile thugs and drew their weapons to hold them back and called for immediate backup.
Several nearby patrol cars responded to the call and sped towards the scene, only to be ordered to stop half a mile away — just outside the no-go border. The police commander didn’t send the backup units in, fearing escalation and all-out war. The cornered police officers were left to fend for themselves. As luck would have it, one of the officers knew a few residents who interfered and convinced the thugs to let them leave.”
I do understand that there could be violent people among the thousands of immigrants flooding into many different countries. It is also true, at least here in America, that there are criminals, and violent people who have lived here their entire lives. The individual governments of nations do have an obligation to protect their citizens. However that belongs to the role of government, and not to the Christian. Our obligation is to the Lord Jesus Christ and His call to love our enemies, and to preach the gospel throughout the world. The point of this article was to urge us into action, to encourage us to take advantage of this window of opportunity. I know several young people who spent the winter in Greece, at a refugee camp. They saw the pain on the faces of parents who had lost children. They saw the hardship of people who were forced to relocate because of war. Most of these people did not want to leave their war torn country. They saw the empty life jackets float up to the shore, a sign that someone drowned. Again, Jesus has called His followers to walk a road of obedience that defies what the world would call "common sense." Christians throughout history have experienced danger, toil, and hardship for the kingdom of Christ. That is a risk we too must take as disciples of Christ.
ReplyDelete