Back in 2003 I drove past an Assemblies of God church sign that read, "Let's roll! USA! USA!" It was the run-up to the Iraq War, and the people of God were calling for bloodshed. We are doing it again. Children spill across our borders, and we hurry to send them right back into the violence they are fleeing from.
"Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt 19:14). Jesus did not say, "As long as they have their papers, if you have room, and you are sure they don't have diseases." He certainly did not add, "As long as they're 'Merican!" We like to think Jesus was talking about being innocent like a child, but that is not how people of his day thought about kids. It was important to have children, but children themselves were not that important. That's why the disciples were shooing them away. Kids were expendable and without rights -- basically worthless. They were a lot like the kids we are chasing away from our own borders. That is what heaven will be like. It will be a place where those we have kicked out will be welcomed in.
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