The Proper Place to Begin: Creation and the Image of God
Sep 15, 2009 by M. Daniel Carroll R. | 2 Comments
Discussions on immigration should begin with looking at those who come as people, as individuals who have left family, home, nation, and culture to try to start a new life in a different, and often strange, place. This moving to a new place is common in the United States. Individuals and families are transferred all the time because of their work; others simply move to try life somewhere else. Immigrants are doing something similar, but in their case that is more complicated for a whole host of reasons!
If we see immigrants as people, we can begin to see them as God does. We must remember that God so loved the world that he sent his Son to live among us and to die for the sins of the world. God cares for humans; he loves humanity profoundly and with deep passion…and at great cost. What would it mean to see immigrants first and above all as humans in need? Can we love them as God has loved all of us? Both the Old and New Testaments call us to love God and neighbor—these two dimensions cannot be separated (Lev. 19:18; Deut. 6:5; Matt. 22:37-40).
Genesis 1:26-28 tells us that humans are the culmination of the creation and are made in the image of God. Each person has value and unique dignity as a special creation of God: We have emotions, a will, a mind, a soul, and a body fashioned by God. As humans, we also have the privilege and responsibility, Genesis 1 tells us, to rule as God’s vice-regents over the rest of creation. That means that every person—even immigrants—has great potential as stewards and contributors to life and society.
Now this truth has a message for both sides. For the receiving culture: What if the United States began to think of those who have come as gifts from God to build into this country, even as they work for a better life? For the immigrant: What would it mean to believe in this potential and dignity and to think of work, lifestyle, worship, and children as means of blessing this country in responsible ways? There are all sorts of conversations that could begin with these and other constructive questions, which can be mutually respectful and sensitive!
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Dave Oltrogge Sep 21, 2009 2:17pm
I'd like to narrow the question about how the U.S. could look at immigrants as gifts from God to build into this country, to: How can the Church in the U.S.--both in wide, denominational terms as well as in terms of local congregations--come to cultivate such a view? I get the feeling that the problem is just as deep and painful in those smaller contexts as it is nationally. Would we do well to ask ourselves what WE need to do to adjust OUR attitudes, before we talk about the U.S. as a whole?
M. Daniel Carroll R. Sep 27, 2009 9:06pm
Crucial point! One of the goals of this blog is to contribute in a small way to informing individual Christians, local churches and others on a different point of view and a set of attitudes shaped by Scripture and the Spirit. My experience is that many are open, but that there are also those who have some very entrenched views and deep feelings against the immigrant presence. SOme of this will be addressed in coming weeks.