An inspiring post.
I’ve been talking with lots of people about the refugee crisis, about language, about practicalities and logistics and about all sorts of things. I’ve read some Christian responses, and a friend has also commented that we don’t need to have the Biblical perspective on refugees clarified… its should be obvious to all people.
But sometimes its worth articulating what the Christian faith says about something, even when we know its true. And its also worth encouraging each other about what to do. Because the two are linked- Christians act out of conviction born from love. They don’t just act, and they don’t just have loving thoughts. Or at least, that should be the case. In reality, we often need something to hang our thoughts and ideas on… someone to remind us what we believe and to point out what we can do…
Yesterday our Bible readings in church were around…
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A Suffolk Lane 
I have just read the original post Clare, thanks for sharing this balanced view point filled with love for humanity and practical ideas of help.
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My pleasure Julie.
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Many people and parishes in NZ have expressed their willingness to support/house refugees. However, the refugee intake is controlled by the Government and its various agencies, so although ordinary citizens may be willing to open their homes to refugees, the modern refugee intake system has no ability to utilize citizen generosity. I can see the Government’s point of view and need to plan and budget but if I were a refugee, or in need of help, I wouldn’t want to wait for help until the Government has built a hostel for me, and found a translator for me etc. What I would really want is a ‘fish and loaves’ attitude…..first come and somehow we will feed you. Our Government has actually increased its refugee intake in response to the Syrian crisis, so that is a positive. 🙂
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Thank-you Ann. I was really impressed by Andy’s post. He has said what a lot of us would like to say but haven’t (yet). The people who shout loud about not wanting refugees don’t seem able to grasp the fact that these people have nowhere else to go. They can’t go home and they are desperate. It wasn’t too many years ago that more than half of Europe was in the same position – people were fleeing their own countries and were in fear that they would be tortured and killed. Homes were found for those people then and when all danger had passed most went back home again. None of us are totally safe these days – at any time we could find we are over-run by zealots of one kind or another and we might wish to escape and look for safety in another land.
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Also, as we discovered in Christchurch, people can be made ‘refugees’ by a natural disaster. Where would we have been back in 2010 and 2011 if people throughout NZ had shut their doors on us. As you say, no one can be assured of safety all the time. We never know when we might need the help of a neighbour or a stranger.
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Very true.
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Thank you for sharing this post, Clare.
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🙂
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Thank you for sharing this post – there are so many of us all over the world who understand it could be us and our families. Too bad our governments are often so slow to act.
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Thank-you!
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Thank you for sharing this, Clare. A different and thoughtful way of looking at what it means to find refuge – to be a refugee.
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Thank-you – yes I was really impressed by Andy’s homily. It wasn’t a nagging one or a rant and I thought it deserved to have a wider audience.
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