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This week I am spending time looking at potential sites for the fall when we plan to move our gatherings to Sunday mornings. And as I am out and about I am struck again by the rich mixture of people who live here. This is a great place to be!
We are young, middle-age, old, black, white, brown, Asian, Indian, rural, suburban, urban, red-neck, cosmo... -- all living as neighbors. It is a privilege to be a part of what God is doing in such an interesting place. And as a congregation we want to be reflective of the population in Laveen and surrounding areas.
As a mixed church we are going to be challenged to care for one another in ways that we previously had not considered. Right now many of our Hispanic brothers and sisters are feeling pretty stressed and anxious by the new immigration law. They are worried that the law will be used to make their lives miserable.
It is important that we look for ways to encourage them and when necessary speak-up on their behalf. Even those who think that the legislation is a good idea can still advocate to make sure that it is not abused and that Hispanics do not become victims. Regardless of political persuasion we are all called to be especially sensitive to the needs of people from other places. This is a recurring biblical theme -- let's not ignore it!
The Lord is passionate about saving people from bondage to sin -- and he is equally passionate about saving the vulnerable from abuse and discrimination. It all comes from the heart of God. God does not divide these things up and treat them as separate priorities. It is all a part of the same salvation -- the salvation which is most fully revealed in Christ Jesus.
The Lord "defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigners residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt." ~ Deuteronomy 10:19-20 (TNIV)
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