Reform

           In the Old Testament, God speaks a message of repentance through His prophet, Jeremiah. In Chapter 7, God has Jeremiah stand at the temple gate and call out to the ones entering to worship Him (vs. 1). He asks them to reform their ways if they truly want to dwell with Him and truly worship in His temple (vs. 3). One thing God asks them not to do is oppress the alien, the orphan, or the widow—essentially, the ones without protectors (vs. 6). That caught my attention because I recently read an article in a Southern Baptist magazine that highlighted three pastors of three different ethnicities sharing and worshiping in the same facilities. The pastor of the Hispanic congregation mentioned that due to recent legislation in Alabama that seems hostile toward those who are Hispanic, he wouldn’t be going on any excursions with his flock any time soon because he felt he might be targeted because of his appearance. He really doesn’t have anything to fear for himself—he was born and raised in America—but some members of his congregation might, and he doesn’t wish to bring any harm to them.

As I’ve watched the news this year, the push all over the country has been for reform in legislation regulating immigration, a cracking down on those who are here illegally. I think this is due to fear on the part of Americans, but I also think it is also due in great part to greed and selfishness. Instead of fearing people who are desperate to have a place to be free to worship and work, we should be afraid of what we have become. We are a nation that has been known as a cultural melting pot. We are a nation of many ethnicities—it is part of what has made us great. Now that we are “great,” we have become selfish and lazy and do not wish to share this same privilege with others. It is easy for us to worship, but so many choose not to do so; will God continue to ignore this? I don’t think so. As Christians, we have been given the ultimate gift of freedom in Christ. As Americans, we have been given the gift of freedom to worship Him. We have a great responsibility to share the good news of the gospel with our neighbors from the south who need it desperately; instead, we are desperately seeking to close off that door and shut our hearts to their cries. I don’t see anything very great about that, and I really don’t think God has changed so much since he had Jeremiah speak for him that he would think it was so hot either. As God’s people did then, we also need to “amend our ways and [our] deeds;” we need to “practice justice between a man and his neighbor; “we need to made sure that we “do not oppress the alien, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to [our] ruin” (Jer. 7:5-6). Otherwise, I am truly afraid that God will not let us continue to dwell with Him in the land that He gave to us—a land that is free. I am afraid that we will walk into His house with our hearts far from Him, and that is a scary place to be.