Undeserving Immigrants

I can’t decide whether or not I still like Wal-Mart and McDonald’s. Hold your judgment for a second. This is still the same conservative Brian who still gets excited at the mention of the word ‘globalization.’ My criticism has nothing to do with the fact that these two corporations are multi-nationals (a word that gets any liberal’s guard up). What I’m complaining about is how everywhere you look in Wal-Mart and McDonald’s you find Spanish translations of everything on every isle and on every menu!

On one hand, if we never teach the immigrants English, I will have to learn Spanish and everyone else, including the immigrants, will suffer. On the other hand, these Spanish translations increase the customer base for Wally World and Micky D’s, which means more money all around. Sometimes I wish all the immigrants would go home.

And then I think about Jesus. And then about me. That’s when I realize that, in a twisted kind of way, I too am an ‘illegal’ immigrant. My sin did not allow me to cross over the border into the Kingdom of God. But by His grace and for His glory, I’ve immigrated into the Kingdom and emigrated from my death in sin. That kind of changes the perspective on the whole immigration thing. I’m not advocating policy changes one way or the other, but just asking you to mediate with me on the fact that we are pilgrims heading towards a land we certainly don’t deserve. We would do well to remember