How should Christians feel about refugees?

There are few topics as explosive in the West today as that of illegal immigration and refugees.  Fear of immigrants (legal or otherwise) is certainly not new, one need only recall the "no Irish need apply" signs during the period in American history when immigration from Ireland was relatively high.



The desire to keep those defined as the "other" (whether due to religion, ethnicity, or race) from "invading" one's own land is as old as human history, and also unlikely to end anytime soon.  In light of the lowering of the refugee quotas for the United States in 2019 to 30,000, the lowest amount since 1980 (the actual number admitted could be far lower than that), the question arises, how should Christian Americans feel about refugees?  Note that our brothers and sisters in Europe and around the world face the same questions, and bear the same responsibility to bend their own thoughts/attitudes to the mind of Christ.

Washington Post 9/17/18: U.S. slashes the number of refugees it will allow into the country

The Church today is the sequel (for want of a universally accepted term) to Israel.  The LORD made a covenant with Abraham regarding his literal descendants, but also promised Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him, a promise kept through the advent of the Messiah.  Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures the idea of protecting those whom society might otherwise oppress is repeated many times by multiple authors in a variety of settings.  The Word of God mandates protections for aliens, widows, orphans, and the oppressed in general.  While the Church has not inherited every element of the covenant with Abraham/Moses/David (such as circumcision, the kosher laws, or the Sabbath), we are heirs to the moral code that underlines it, for that moral code was derived from the character of God himself, and since God does not change, neither does right and wrong.

It is unacceptable for Christians, living in any land, to treat those from other lands as less-worthy of the love of God.  We do not believe that there was anything special about ourselves which led to our inclusion within the people of God, it was an act of God's grace, and therefore we do not look at any person or people as beyond the reach of God's grace, and thus all people are in a real and tangible way our responsibility if they need help and we can provide it.  The principle is beautifully illustrated by Jesus in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, in which the hero of the tale is a hated Samaritan, while those refusing to help are considered pillars of the Jewish community.

If Christians allow the siren's call of Nationalism to blind them to their responsibility as the people of God to be a balm to those in need and representatives of the love of God here on earth, they will answer to God for that failure.  If Christians join in and heap condemnation on those seeking succor, treating them as less worthy of God's love, and shutting the door literally or figuratively in their faces, they will answer for that as well.

Is the refugee in question white like me?  That doesn't matter at all, and if you even care about the answer you're not thinking like Christ.  Is the refugee a fellow Christian like me?  If so, my obligation is even greater, if not, my obligation remains and must be fulfilled.  There are ways to rationalize away the call of those in need, political and economic reasons why their cries should be ignored, but they're not Christ-centered reasons, and while they may garner votes for politicians, they won't do you any good when you stand before a Holy God and need to explain the hardness of your heart.

Below is a selection of the array of references in the Scriptures on this topic, see for yourself, this is just the tip of the iceberg:

Exodus 22:21 New International Version (NIV)
21 “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.

 Psalm 9:9 New International Version (NIV)
9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
    a stronghold in times of trouble.

Psalm 146:7-9 New International Version (NIV)
7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed
    and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
8     the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
    the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the foreigner
    and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
    but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

Isaiah 58:10 New International Version (NIV)
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
    and your night will become like the noonday.

Luke 4:18 New International Version (NIV)
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,