“An Appeal to Immigrants”
If you were not born in this country, I’m so glad you are here now! Why? God has called you to come and teach me something I am missing…something about His character…something about how to live and love more like Jesus.
Migration is a huge reality in our current age. Not only is the global population exploding in numbers, but we are on the move like never before. Transportation, communication, legislation and education have all changed drastically, facilitating this modern exodus. As a follower of Jesus I deeply appreciate this phenomenon as I see God’s prophetic design at work in powerful ways. He planned this from the beginning, and He will change the world and each of us through the process. Here are some verses from Genesis that share God’s plan, as well as how it is being fulfilled through Jesus…
Gen. 1:22,28 God commanded Adam and Eve to “be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth.”
Gen. 9:1,7 God repeated the command to Noah and his family after the flood.
Gen. 11 Tower of Babel…when the people stayed in one place, God gave them different languages and spread them around the world.
Gen. 17 God chose Abraham’s descendants, but promised to bless all the nations through him.
Mark 11:17 Jesus rebuked the people for keeping God to themselves and declared that the Jewish temple was intended to be a “house of prayer for all the nations.” (quote of Isaiah 56:7)
Matt. 28:19-20 The Great Commission. Jesus commanded his disciples to go into all the world and teach all people to follow Him.
Acts 10 Peter had a vision about all people becoming clean before God through Christ…He then began the process of reuniting the Jews with the Gentiles (all other people).
Rev. 5 A beautiful picture of all nations, tribes, peoples, and languages worshipping in unity.
What is God up to in all of this?
- God intentionally spread people around the globe in order to uniquely reveal various aspects of His character to each people group. One group of people sees God’s order in creation. Another group experiences the spirit realm through dance/worship. Another is strong in family dynamics, etc…
- Though each people group knows something unique about God, no one can know Him fully except through Jesus Christ, His son. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) God’s revelation of character to the people prepared them for the full truth.
- With Jesus as our connecting point, God intends to unite people across cultural, racial, physical, and economical barriers and make Himself known to us through the shared wisdom of diverse relationships, if we are flexible and spiritually curious enough to submit to His amazing plan.
The bottom line is this. If you grew up in a different culture than me, you and I can teach each other something about God, and we should deeply hunger for that knowledge of our loving Father. So I’m appealing to all immigrants…come and find me and give me your message from God. I’m waiting.
Cory Grimm