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There seems to be some fear or dread around migration here on MN which leaves me wondering, are there silent voices out there who see opportunities or sense the hand of God at work in human migration. What good things do you see?

1. While God can save people in any way he chooses, it seems that He often uses migration as a way to save people. I've seen this first hand.

2. Why study about other cultures in a text book? Why not invite them into your home and learn it first hand?

3. For Abraham and Isaac, migration was a way to build faith. (People who stay at the same place often lose faith due to complacency.)

4. For Israel and his descendants, migration was the only way to survive.

5. For the Israelites in Egypt, migration was a way to flee oppression.

Ernie wrote: ↑Thu Jan 04, 2024 12:34 pm 3. For Abraham and Isaac, migration was a way to build faith. (People who stay at the same place often lose faith due to complacency.)

Care to expound?

I haven't participated in the other threads because:

1- There is a place for migration as mentioned in the above reply.

2- As long as it is done legally, I don't care.

3- My family migrated, too.

i haven’t read migration threads this year.

i don’t think of migration as good or bad, it’s part of life on earth, life is motion, for plants, animals, continents, humans.
human migration over world history, INCLUDING SCRIPTURAL HISTORY, is fascinating. much of it done on foot.

reading about Jesus and His apostles piques the imagination, ON FOOT. of course, with The Spirit.
John 21:25 describes how Jesus “did so much” it would be impossble to record. He/Truth was not confined.

Jesus was widely unwanted. i’m not aware he broke border/immigration laws.

current questions are about .. whether to respect national boundaries, laws.
in the past, the U.S. was overall comfortable being a “nation of laws.” it was hugely attractive to others. it remains so,
but, today, laws are “up for grabs,” dependng on “what you want.”

that results in everyone feeling unsettled, no one knows what to expect; many believe others are given special treatment, while they are expected to be evermore accountable.

it’s much like any business management.
businesses run best when everyone understands what’s expected of them and when. not all are good managers.
poor managers can devastate thriving businesses very quickly. who hasn’t witnessed this on the local level?

aside from this ..
Christians are called to be Christian, no matter gov regimes, policies, laws. That’s a different matter.

Jesus never said, hijack governments to do your mission. At others’ expense (taxpayers). Jesus didn’t say Caesar’s money was His.
Evidently, a LOT of people believe the Public Treasury is Jesus’ petty cash drawer.

anyway.
personally, i hold Congress liable for this gov mess (altho it’s happening in other countries, too).
in my view, migration, legal immigration in the U.S. should be running smoothly, without a hiccup from anyone!
this is not rocket science. it should not be news worthy.

there have been DECADES to problem solve and fine tune. WASTED.
wasted as politicians have kicked the can down the road, term after term, no matter which party. SYSTEM FAILURE.

barnhart wrote: ↑Thu Jan 04, 2024 10:56 am There seems to be some fear or dread around migration here on MN which leaves me wondering, are there silent voices out there who see opportunities or sense the hand of God at work in human migration. What good things do you see?

In my thinking, when people leave their homeland and are willing to venture out to a better place, they are 'leaving Egypt behind' in a sense. And spiritually speaking when we are born again that is also what happens, we leave our old world behind. They are looking for a better country and willing to give up things they couldn't take with them. They are ready for a new beginning, a new life. Willing to adapt to a new environment.

Some people never get to this point such as the rich young ruler. When it came to giving up his stuff, he was unwilling. These immigrants have been willing and ready to take on a new life. I think this is an opportunity then to share with them also having a new life in Christ. Pointing them to the abundant, eternal life Jesus offers while helping them get started in their new temporal lives.

So in the sense of human migration, I believe, it can open a door of opportunity for believers to not only be a good Samaritan in the physical needs area but to be engaged in the spiritual need area.

.. I think this is an opportunity then to share with them also having a new life in Christ.
Pointing them to the abundant, eternal life Jesus offers while helping them get started in their new temporal lives.

i find myself hoping present migrants will BRING the message of the life Jesus offers to people here who have before failed to get or accept the message. many migrants arrive as devout Christians, trusting in Him for strength.

hopefully, they won’t lose their faith after arrival.
hopefully, they won’t have regrets they brought their children to such a place.

A few years ago when Syrian migration into Europe was at it's peak, I read an article in Christianity Today by an evangelical pastor in a large industrial city in Germany. For many years he watched the congregation grow smaller and older and there were no baptisms. Since the expanded migration the church was growing dramatically. The last baptism class was so large they had to rent the public swimming pool.

That really touched me, I saw something of the heart of God and I wanted that type of vision and passion. Like Sudsy I see opportunity. Not that long ago sending a missionary to Bangladesh was difficult and expensive but in the last decade tens of thousands of them have moved several streets over. I don't know how many are undocumented and it never crosses my mind, I see God moving.

I am pro-immigration. Legal. But I harbor no ill will towards illegal immigrants whatsoever. I do encourage and assist them individually to go back to their country or else apply try to become legal here. Generally they don't really care what my opinion is, any more than a legal immigrant cares what my opinion is.

Economically speaking, I believe that immigrants are a net good for America.

Our family and some local friends have been trying to help some Afghan refugees bring their family members to the US. The US government fast tracked a lot of Afghan folks migrating to the US a couple years ago and has basically forgotten about all the folks they left in Afghanistan even though they promised to get them out. Once the airlift was finished, immigration processes went back to the same slow snail pace that things were happening prior to the airlift. Most will die before their paperwork is ever processed.

Had the US had a faster process prior to the airlift, all the people who were promised an exit and are still in Afghanistan could have left in a timely manner. Now matters are even worse in Afghanistan with 1.7 million refugees in Pakistan being forcedly deported back to Afghanistan with very little warning or the means to provide for themselves in Afghanistan. Housing rent is nearly doubling in Kabul due to all the deportations, making it even harder for Afghans to keep from starving.

The refugee we interact with here in State College wakes up every morning to dozens of requests from relatives and friends asking if he couldn't somehow help them get food, get a doctors visit, help pay their rent, etc. It just breaks his heart. And every month, a few of his acquaintances are maimed or killed by the Taliban. Christians are being killed just for being a Christian.

We have received many blessings from helping these Afghans. Their gratefulness, their sacrifice, their willingness to work long hours to provide for their friends and relatives.

If you are interested in learning more about helping orphans, widows, fatherless and Afghans learn a trade so they can get a job in Afghanistan and provide for themselves and what's left of their family, you can PM me for a Telegram link where we show pictures and videos, or an email address where we can send periodic updates.

You can read some here. https://www.plainnews.org/wp-content/up ... 2024-1.pdf