Devotions

New Americans know how things work in the countries they used to live in—but what about here? Can they trust what their English-speaking children tell them? What about the TV, or social media? Who is telling the truth, and who is just trying to take advantage of them?

Jesus is not concerned about tax questions as much as he is about us, the human beings who carry God’s image. This is true for every human being—newborns and elderly, men and women, people born here and the new Americans who are just getting adjusted to their new country.

Christians in America don’t often think about serious persecution—the kind that involves betrayal, exile, and death. We have had peace and freedom to follow Jesus for many years. But history tells us that it’s common for Christians to live with persecution at some level, and Jesus himself tells us to expect it. This world is not our home.

This is a scary time for immigrants in America right now. Anti-immigrant feeling is rising, and even those who have been here legally for years have reason to be afraid. Jesus helps us face an uncertain future.

Though Jesus is God, he chose to be born as a human being in a conquered nation, subject to the authority of a far-off emperor who never even knew he was alive. His mother gave birth to him on a journey, in temporary housing far from her relatives.