Juan Illegal Gonzales: Dirty Mexican or Lost Sheep?

Several of my friends and I have talked recently about our response as Christians to illegal immigrants. How does one respond? I've heard Christians call them "Dirty Mexicans." Is that the proper Biblical response? Do you just overlook their breaking of US laws? What do you do when someone you have worked and sweated with, talked and joked with, tells you that they are not in the US legally? Do you turn them in? I'll tell you right now that I don't have all the answers. I'm still sorting some of it out. But there are a few things I do know. And I'm about to impart my knowledge to you dear reader, to take it or leave it as you see fit but if the words I write today compels you to consider this very current and worthwhile topic, my time will be well spent. (I sound like an introduction from a book written 100 years ago!)

First, we are all sinners in the sight of God. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned." We are all guilty of breaking God's law and outside of God's redeeming grace, headed for eternal damnation in hell. Read Romans 3:9-19 "What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. As it is written: “ There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” “ Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “ The poison of asps is under their lips”; “ Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” “ Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace they have not known.” “ There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God." According to a plain, literal interpretation, we Americans are no better than the Mexicans. Not even the Jews, God's chosen people, are better than the Mexicans. We are all the same in God's eyes. The only difference is if you are saved. But even then you must remember where you came from. I Corinthians 6:9-11 "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." That is the difference!

But what about the illegals? What about the Hispanics? Remember that Christ died for all men, not just white Americans. Yes illegal immigrants are just that, illegal. But what did they do? They broke mans law. What did you do? You broke God's law. Now you are probably saying, "If you break mans law, you are breaking God's law." You are right. But you broke God's law as well. We can't get all high and mighty about ourselves because we are no better than the illegals. And just as Christ died for you, Christ died for them too! Christ loved the world. He treated sinners with respect. The people Christ had no respect for where the Pharisees. And you know what we all too often are as white, Christian Americans? WE are the pharisees of todays world. We have our theological arguments we spend hours and thousands of dollars bickering about when what we are often arguing about are moot points of our traditions. You know who the "dirty Mexicans" where of Christ's day? The Samaritans. Who did Christ go see? A Samaritan woman with 5 husbands and who was living with a man who wasn't her husband. What did Christ do? He talked with her and let her get water for him, and showed her that she needed Living Water and shared with her and her people the way to that Living Water! NOWHERE did he EVER treat someone in need in a derogatory fashion. No...instead he wept over them; he had compassion on them. I once worked with a man I'll call Jose. He had a wife in Mexico, a wife in America, and a girlfriend in America. Dirty Mexican? NO!!! Lost Sheep? YES!!!! And that is what our focus needs to be! These are lost people bound for hell like you once where. But now you aren't. You have hope and a message. DON'T YOU DARE CALL THEM DIRTY MEXICANS!!!

But there are laws on the books. Illegal Immigrants are just that, illegal. They have broken the law of this land. How do we deal with that? I don't entirely know. Often we do not know who the illegals are or aren't. And we can't ask. If they show identification, we have to take it and can't question it. I personally have never turned any illegals in. I don't know anyone who has, even those who call illegals dirty Mexicans. The only times I know of, in my experience, where illegals have been sent back to Mexico, have been when the Government has found out about someone being illegal. Someone said something very interesting the other day. They said that as long as a Mexican can earn 10 times more money in the US than in Mexico, there is no way you will keep them out, legal or illegal. And they are right. But that doesn't make the illegals OK. It is still wrong. So I don't know exactly what we should do when we find out that someone is illegal. I would probably strongly urge them to get things cleared up so they are legal. Especially if I find out that they are Christians or they just got saved.

That does raise another question that was recently brought to my attention. What do you do if you are planting a church that focuses on Hispanics? People start getting saved and then the illegals start getting convicted and turn themselves in or go back to Mexico their own. Your congregation is decreasing or always changing and fluctuating. That can make things difficult on the church planter and church. But that brings to mind the Jerusalem Church in Acts. A similar situation. The result of that scattering was the gospel spreading more places. So I say, get the Mexicans/Hispanics/Latinos saved and let 'em get back to their countries! We are to pray that God will send laborers out to the harvest field. God is answering our prayer if the Hispanics get saved then return to spread the gospel. So what if it makes things a little more difficult in our church plant. God will provide. Where's your faith?

So I guess I'll wrap this up now. Remember what you were before you were saved. Remember what Christ came to earth to do and what his response was to those rather less than savory individuals. We are all the same in God's sight. You are no better than anybody else. We need to share the gospel with everyone legal or no. And if you are still calling Hispanics "dirty Mexicans", I challenge you to go find one and make him your friend. Then let me know if your attitude changes.

(Josh, I hope it doesn't look like I plagiarized from your blog! If it does I didn't mean too.)

Last 10 days...

Got sick
Slept a lot
Went to the doctor
The doctor thought I might have pneumonia
Got chest x-rays
Got drugs for pneumonia
Back to bed
Missing lots of classes
Still in bed
Back to the land of the living
Back to classes
Back to work
Catching up like mad
Found out I don't have pneumonia
Working all night in booth
I think I'm depressed
Deep theological treatise coming soon....as soon as I get caught up on school.
And for all you who work night shifts...you have my deepest sympathy...I am awake with you and I feel your pain. Hang in there...sunrise is coming and then you can sleep.

True Religion???

Sometimes people do things that really burn me up. Now I'm a pretty laid back guy but sometimes even I get mad. Like really REALLY mad. Terry Shivo was one of those times. Recently an incident happened in Iraq that once again caused me to flip out. Maybe you read the report or saw it one the news. There were two car bombings recently. They were among the deadliest in Baghdad in the last year. The last report I heard was that the death toll was up to 99. And guess who drove the trucks? Two ladies. But they were not just two ladies. They were two ladies with Downs Syndrome. And the bombs were set off by remote control. What a hideous heinous act!! To use people who are mentally and physically handicapped to kill nearly 100 people! How can anyone do that? Maybe you don't know this but I have a little 8 year old sister with Downs Syndrome and the thought of someone using her to kill and terrorize is more than enough to fill me with rage. This has to be the work of the Devil. And those indescribable low lifes need to be brought to justice. Evil must be combated. But evil must not be combated in just the physical realm. Evil must be combated in the spiritual realm. How do you do this? By loving your enemies enough to take the message of Christ to them. Christ died for these people too. Now that is hard to believe. But one must realize that not only did their sin nail Jesus to the cross but my sin and your sin did too. That is humbling. Like Really humbling. The penalty of all sin is death whether that sin is just a little lie or sending innocent girls who where completely unable to resist such an atrocious act as to kill 99 people.

There are two lessons to be learned from this...there may be more but I haven't thought that far yet:
1-As sickening as that act of terrorism was, and as much as those who perpetrated it are guilty and deserving of death, all sin is deserving of death including ours. We are no better than those people are/were. It was my sin that sent my Savior to the cross.
2-And just as my Savior was willing to give His life for my sin, we should be just as willing to give our lives to take that message to others no matter who they are, where they live, or what they have done/are doing.
3-(I know I can't count) The devil is not just some grade school bully that needs some counseling(is that a root or a fruit issue?) that we don't really have to take seriously but he is a terribly wicked being that will stop at nothing--absolutely nothing--to attempt to advance his cause. And that extremely explicit truth should spur us into action. Whether we realize it or not, and we probably don't due to our complacent view of life, we fight a battle daily with the very forces of evil that controlled Saddam Husein, Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler and the like. Oh...I forgot...this is America and we are enlightened now. There are no demons that control people. How silly of me.

You get the point I hope. Now get out there, be humble, love your enemy, and fight!!

Waiting for Inspiration to Strike

Something I have been wondering some about over this particular break is the lucridity (my own spelling and possibly my own word) of the elite class in airports. Now if you are an elite member you get certain perks. One of those is that you get better service in the airport and on the airplane. So far so good. But how about this. I was sitting in the Seattle airport waiting to board my flight when the time came to get ready to board. If you have flown before you know that airlines board the old and young people first along with the elite/first class customers and those seated in exit rows. Nothing wrong with that. But here's the kicker. When the elite board, they board to the right of the podium. When the rest of us proletariat get to board the flight we have to walk on the left side of the podium. Now granted, you pay more you should get better service. But do you know what the better service is when you walk past the podium onto the plane? Do you know the difference between the left and right side of the podium? If you are the proletariat boarding to the left of the podium, you have the proletariat privilege of walking across a 4x6 foot square of dirty gray rug. Now if you are a member of the elite class walking to the right of the podium, you have the distinct privilege to walk across a 4x6 foot square of dirty red rug. And that dear reader is the only difference in the world between the elite and the proletariat when you board an airplane.

And someday, you too may be part of the elite walking across the dirty red rug, if inspiration ever strikes and you become rich.

Catch Up

Well I'm back...my break was good...slept a lot, ate some, played and read some, helped out at home and at church, that's pretty much it. In the four weeks I was home I was privileged/blessed to be able to sing in the Christmas Cantata(when I sang I had only practiced it once) I preached four times, did a teen activity and taught four teen SS lessons. It was a blast! Three kids moved up to the teen class this year and three left when our pastor moved to another church...they were his kids so they kinda had to go...so the numbers are still the same. About 8 depending on the Sunday. Anyway, so now I am back at school working crazy hours again as usual not knowing my plans beyond the end of this semester.

As a Pastoral Studies Major, I must do an internship to graduate. Where or when or with whom (who/whom??) I have no idea but I have till March to decide so what's the big hurry??

As we begin another semester and year, I am reminded again of a passage of Scripture that holds a reminder we need often. "But Mary has chosen that one needful thing." What is that one needful thing? Look it up and rediscover it for yourself. The reference is Luke 10:42. Happy reading!:)