I have to admit, this one has troubled me deeply. I feel a little schizophrenic:
Part of me says, What kind of parent sends a child across a guarded border into the arms of law enforcement and strangers? And the other part of me says, A parent who is poor, living under threat, and hopeless.
Part of me says, Should not a government the size of Mexico be responsible for its children? And the other part of me says, With all that is wrong with American government, isn’t it amazing that people assume we will be compassionate to children?
Part of me says, Why would we be so compassionate, merciful, and helpful to these children who are a burden to our society? And the other part of me says, Isn’t it interesting that we take no concern for burdensome children in the womb?
Part of me says, Why do we need $52,000 per child to care for them? And the other part of me says, I bet there are plenty childless couples who would open their lives to adopt these children.
Part of me says, I wish we would cancel the purchase of a few bombers to pay for this, rather than adding to the deficit. And the other part of me says, That’s a very good idea.
Part of me says, Politics aside, these are children. And the other part of me says, Jesus would care for the children first, then challenge adults to be, well, adults.
Amen to that Dr. Dan! I’m with you on each point. ~Carri Uram
As one of my friends recently posted: “Let’s not forget that the child Jesus and his family became refugees and fled violence in their homeland.”
I don’t see how we look at those children without having our imaginations shaped by Matthew 25. If we find children who are hungry, thirsty, and strangers who are we welcoming? We are welcoming the very Christ who we confess each Sunday. We are welcoming the child who fled violence in his homeland and became a refugee in a strange land.
When you hear the stories and see what so many of these kids are fleeing from, they are refugees who need our compassion.
Very well put Dan!
I believe what we need to do personally as a Church is to begin to construct Child Development Centers in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador as has been done in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
We are a childless couple – and although older – would take a couple of these precious kids in a heartbeat!
I too am struggling as how we are to respond to this as Christians! These are precious children. I have friends that have spent tens of thousand of dollars adopting their children from China because adoption in the US was almost impossible! Why are we not giving American families the opportunity to open their hearts and families to these children? I’m sure my knowledge is so limited…..I continue to pray that we will find God’s way!
Thank you for your compassion. This issue hurts my very soul. I have heard some of the most hateful comments and opinions on this matter. It’s so encouraging to know that I’m not the only one who feels that we should love them like Jesus.