Thankfully, what will be done regarding the folks from Ecuador, is not to be decided by the church, but by our government, and the responsibilities of government are very different from those of the church.  Governments are ordained of God to maintain justice among their citizens, rewarding good and punishing evil, according Romans 13:1-7.  The government’s response, therefore, should not be expected to be the same as if it were you and I as disciples of Jesus at the border facing those who are coming.

May God prevent us from ever refusing compassion when needed.  Compassion, however, is not intended to relieve us of our reason, nor is it intended to prevent us from proving all things and holding to what is actually good and avoiding what is evil (1st Thessalonians 5:21-22). 

We must ask what this crisis is all about.  Is it simply poor people seeking better lives, or is it a political ploy?  Who has financially and materially supported their 3,000 plus mile journey, and what was their purpose for doing so?  What could that kind of financial support have done for them in their own home country?  Should they be welcomed?

Rather than welcome all who came to hear him, John denounced some, calling them vipers and demanding that they first show repentance, Matthew 3:7-9.

Jesus clearly taught that only those who did the will of his father would enter his kingdom, Matthew 7:21-23.  Obviously God has entry requirements for his kingdom, and only those who happily submit to them will enter.

When asked to cast a demon out of a Gentile woman’s daughter, Jesus responded with a striking comment saying that it was not fit for him to take the children’s (Israel’s) bread and give it to dogs (Gentiles), Matthew 15:21-28.  He did grant her request, based on her faith, but he did so without renouncing his previous statement and also did not at that point initiate a full scale outreach to the Gentile world.  Jesus also rebuked others, saying that they followed him only because he fed them, John 6:26.

I also believe it worth noting that Jesus never handed someone a bag of money saying that it would resolve their problems.

With a thought, he could have healed every sick person in the world, but he never did that either.

We know what some have done with the thief on the cross whom Jesus saved, using him as a precedent to cast off the need to obey Jesus’ gospel.  Perhaps there is a parallel danger with this situation.  Who knows but God?

I pray for those who suffer in innocence, and for those who must decide what to do.