Scriptures describe us as sojourners, refugees, and aliens. Our biblical identity as a peculiar people and the “set-apart ones” doesn’t put us in a class above others. We’re not better because we know the King. Quite the contrary, our status carries with it the promise that we can expect to be among the outcast, the odd ones, and the oppressed.
If I believe I’m an alien, I won’t easily choose political options aimed at protecting my own status, whether legal, financial, or societal. I have no status, other than that of a pilgrim temporarily on mission in a foreign land, looking forward to going home.
My alienated status will lead me to identify with others who are strangers in my adopted country. Whatever my opinions about the legal and political issues surrounding immigrants and refugees, I’ll choose to show them kindness and to uphold their cause along with the Lord.
If I choose to believe I’m among “the least of these,” it will change the way I approach political issues.
Read the rest at Uphold the Cause in the March 2017 issue of Christian Standard .
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