How are we, as Christians, to think about refugees? And more than just think – what should our attitude and actions be? How does the Bible inform our thinking on this issue?
Dictionary.com defines the term ‘refugee’ as “an individual seeking refuge or asylum; especially: an individual who has left his or her native country and is unwilling or unable to return to it because of persecution or fear of persecution (as because of race, religion, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion).”
By this definition, it’s interesting to note that Jesus himself was a refugee! Matthew 2:13-23 records how when Jesus was a child, his family had to flee to Egypt because Herod was searching for Jesus to kill him. His family stayed in Egypt until the government changed (that is, until King Herod died), and settled in Nazareth in Galilee (rather than in Judea) to avoid Herod’s son Archelaus.
Not only does the Bible show us that Jesus and his family were themselves refugees, it has a great deal to say about those who are poor, oppressed, and in a foreign country. God’s people, the Israelites, were not to mistreat or oppress foreigners (Zechariah 7:10). Rather, they were to treat foreigners as themselves; to love them, and give them food and clothing, and ensure that they were not deprived of justice. God himself loves the foreigner, and his people are to do likewise (Leviticus 19: 33-34; Deuteronomy 10: 17-19; 24:17).
The Bible is clear on the way God wants his people to act, ‘This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place’ (Jeremiah 22:3).
When we are faced with the issues of boat people, asylum seekers, and refugees, how does the Bible’s teaching influence us? That’s what’s on my mind.
What do you think?
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