Dr. Russell Moore, President of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, has a great new post urging Christians to “recognize both the complexity of this situation and what it means to be people of justice and mercy.” As usual, he captures both the nuance of the situation while grounding his views in biblical truth:
When responding to the vulnerable, our greatest obstacle isn’t the question of knowing what to do. Our greatest obstacle is fear. The Samaritan in Jesus’ parable (Lk. 10:27-37) has every reason to be afraid on the Road to Jericho. The presence of a beaten man tells him there are robbers around, potentially hiding in the caves around him. Fear, though, is cast out by love; love is not cast out by fear.
The Samaritan has no reason to claim accountability for this terrorized neighbor. He does so because he treats him, a stranger, as though he were kin. The lawyer questioning Jesus rightly sees this as showing mercy (Lk. 10:37). And Jesus says simply, “Go and do likewise.” That’s why Christians are at the border, ministering to people. And that’s why all of us should be praying for those in harm’s way on the border, and those trembling in fear in violence-torn Central American countries, as well as those exploited by traffickers and cartels.
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The gospel doesn’t fill in for us on the details on how we can simultaneously balance border security and respect for human life in this case. But the gospel does tell us that our instinct ought to be one of compassion toward those in need, not disgust or anger.
Let us join in prayer for those in need, seeking to understand the complexity of the situation and being willing to respond with compassion. Check out the rest here.
Photo credit: Tomas Castelazo [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
