“Security against foreign danger is one of the primitive objects of civil society. It is an avowed and essential object of the American Union.” –James Madison, Federalist No. 41, 1788

As Christians we want to help those who are helpless and in need. We know that God in the Old Testament instructs the Israelites to love the strangers or foreigners among them and treat them fairly. But God is firm about obeying the law so obviously those in Israel were there legally. In the New Testament, as Christians, we all become strangers and aliens whose real home is heaven. So we are to love and minister to those at the border seeking to enter illegally.

Our immediate response should be to show love by meeting immediate needs for food, clothes, and medical attention then do all we can to return them home to their families and countries. They have risked their lives to make this trip and obviously need assistance to be strengthened to return home. Some are already being released into the hands of so-called family members that have come here illegally and will stay here. But how does anybody really know that these are truly family members? The government is not checking them out nor asking if they are here illegally. Therefore the government bureaucrats may inadvertently be releasing some into a life of slavery and sex trafficking. We don’t know.

If we truly care, we will strengthen them to return home to their families where they can work to improve their home country. This action will save many lives as the message gets out that you can’t stay here upon arrival. That is the only thing that will stop the flow and also stop the enticements drawing them here under false assumptions which have resulted in many deaths. The unintended consequences of trying to distribute these illegals throughout the country will multiply as time passes and will cause chaos in our schools and crash our social systems. We, as a nation, cannot sustain the huge numbers that are openly breaking our laws to cross our border.

One of the primary duties of the federal government is to protect our borders. No country in the world has open borders because it is common knowledge that a country is defined by its borders. Without a border there is no country. In fact Mexico has very strict border security and laws against entering illegally to the point of shoot to kill but yet they expect us to open our border and accept all their poor people because they can’t sustain them any longer. Now we have Central American countries acting in the same way.

God laid out very definite borders for the nation of Israel so borders are important to God. Language is important to God. Culture is important to God. Laws are important to God. He is a God of order. Keeping these in mind we ought to do all we can to promote English as our official language, promote the unique American culture that immigrants embraced for the first 200 years, secure our borders and enforce the laws of the land. Our national security is at stake.

As much as we would like to help everyone, we can’t – so we pray for those living in terrible conditions that the leaders of those governments would come to know the Righteous One and change the course of their nations. We are not responsible for the lawless nations who drive desperate people to risk their lives looking for a better life. However, the actions from the White House (by granting amnesty to those children who have been in this country illegally because their parents brought them here) was an open invitation to the thousands now pouring across our southern border. In fact the numbers have doubled each year since that action. Now it is up to us to help the helpless, nurse them back to strength and health so they can return home. But most importantly it is time to seal our border or we will no longer have a nation.

Next Week: Biblical Principles Found in the Declaration and the Constitution

Dinner Table Discussion Question: Discuss the long-term consequences of leaving our borders unprotected. Have a time of prayer for those who are being abused and used in this crisis (and that would include the American people).