The Real Reason

From the very beginning of creation, God has expressed his love for us.

Gen 1:27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.

 The creation was made for us.  The story of the Bible is God’s love for us.  But we have been deceived.  The serpent in the garden didn’t just tempt Adam and Eve with fruit, but tempted them to be free of their relationship and dependence on God.

Gen 3:4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

It might be easy to say the rest is history.   But in a sense it is true, the idea that man can live without a relationship with God, is sin.  It is rebellion against the gift of life that he gives us.  We cannot in ourselves provide penance for our rebellion, since that would be turning the tables on God and saying sorry for our rebellion, we can fix this without you.   That’s not possible.  So not only did God give us life and all of creation, but he also gave us his son Jesus Christ.  Christ paid the price for our rebellion on the cross.

So what does this have to do with the refugee crisis?  If I accept and believe all of the above, then God has made my life possible, given me many blessing in friends, family and health.  But most of all he has given me His love, he has given me my salvation and he has given me His Holy Spirit that lives within me and strengthens me in all that I do. 

So what do I do with all that God has done for me?  He calls me first of all to love him and secondly to love others.  This love for others should be the hallmark of all who follow Christ.  Who are the others?  The good news is for everyone.

Luke 2:10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.

The good news needs to overcome political prejudices, to overcome cultural prejudices, to overcome racial prejudices and to overcome religious prejudices.  Jesus reached out to the Samaritan woman that crossed religious and cultural barriers.  This shocked the woman.

John 4:9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans).

People from Syria, Afghanistan and refugees from other countries need to hear the good news of God’s love.   How will they hear this good news? They will hear the Gospel only through the action of Christians reaching out during their time of need.  Jesus didn’t just preach, he healed, he listened and he met physical needs.  He showed compassion and he spoke the truth direct and with authority.

How can we say we follow and love God, when we segregate and separate those who are unsaved by groups?  When we create us and them, we hurt the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

This is the real reason I am going to Lesbos.  This is the real reason I want to help.  This is the real reason I pray that I will be able to show God’s compassion.  Pray with me for these people to reconciled to the creator and one true God.