Devotions

How in the world are we to care for so many new Americans, needing food, clothing, and furniture, needing lessons in English and civics and driving, needing friendship and advice, and most of all, the good news of Jesus their Savior? How are we to use our limited resources to share the love of Jesus with these people, so that they, too, may come to know the Lord who died and rose to give them life?

This is a hard time for people who love our immigrant neighbors and want to share the love of Jesus with them. Not only do we face the usual difficulties—hard work, funding problems, language difficulties, and so forth—but we also live in a time when the attitude of others around us has drastically changed—when our friends, neighbors, and even our own relatives may oppose what we’re doing.

Jesus faced temptation in the wilderness, but He didn’t give in to the distractions and lies that sought to turn Him away from God’s true provision. Just as Jesus rejected the temptation to serve a false god and instead remained focused on His Father’s will, we are called to stay focused on the true God, who provides for us, even in our moments of struggle.

Jesus gets baptized anyway because he always leads the way—going before us into the new life God gives. Jesus is our Leader and our Savior—and he will walk with us through every new challenge we face, until the day he takes us home to be with him forever.

So many immigrants and refugees work in jobs like the shepherds did, though in their home countries they may have been doctors or military commanders. But here they may be looked down on, just as the shepherds were on that first Christmas.