Turn on the news any time of day right now and you will be inundated with reports about the crisis at the border. It is a complicated problem; a problem that divides people, just like the geographical boundary that divides the United States and Mexico. But taking a look at it from a different perspective, one without political alliances, a thought occurred to me. What is driving the people north to the United States? Hope! Hope for a better life—hope for a future. The United States offers these people promise and a way of life that they can’t get in their home countries. Now, without getting into a political argument about the fundamentals of border security or the responsibilities of a sovereign nation, I want you to think about this in a different way. The gospel of Christ offers hope, forgiveness, love, and eternal life. Why is the church, the body of Christ, not being overrun? Where are we failing brothers and sisters? Why are our pews and church buildings not overflowing with the worn, torn, refugees, seeking life and hope?

The very nature of the gospel is to bring hope to the lost. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Christ was born to reconcile the relationship between God and his people. Jesus’s blood paid the price for the sins that we have all committed. His sacrifice paid the price for our asylum in heaven; we were refugees wandering without a home, lost in the darkness of sin , and his sacrificial gift, his love, paid the price that a holy God required. With such immeasurable love being offered, peace, and life eternal in paradise…where are the hordes of people that should be flocking to us?

Normally I address this blog to the new believer or even those who may be seeking. But this week, I am addressing this blog to the church. The body of believers, who have accepted Jesus Christ and serve him. Where have we failed? Where is our heart for those who are lost? I do not ask these questions to accuse, but if you think about the crisis we are dealing with right now on our southern border, how can you not think of the crisis we are dealing with in our own congregations? Have we become complacent? Are we so comfortable in our beautiful church buildings that we can’t see the countless souls suffering beyond our doors? I won’t tell you that I have the answers, for I do not. I will however challenge you. We have been given a precious commodity that all men should desire…freedom and everlasting life. We should be overrun with asylum seekers, the sick, the poor, the homeless. So why aren’t we?