A Tale of Two Kingdoms

“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”

Lev. 19:33-34

Until a couple of weeks ago, I was living in blissful ignorance about all of the migrants and refugees coming into Europe from the Middle East.  That all changed when Linda, leaving Budapest, had to make her way through a camp of sleeping refugees, and then through a cordon of police to get inside the train station in Budapest.  (Please know she was perfectly safe the whole time.) Since then I have heard all sorts of stories.  Some of these stories have included the refugees demanding all sorts of things, being ungrateful, and rioting.  Others tell the story of families fleeing war – walking through parts of two continents to get to Germany.  I have encountered all sorts of reactions – fear, anger, resentment, compassion, a desire to do something to help. From America I have heard people who, because of the press, seem to believe that there are refugees everywhere.  (There aren’t).  Here I have heard calls from some for the governments to shut down the borders and from others for the governments to do more for these people. 

Personally, I have struggled with what I myself think about all of this.  In part that is because I see some truth in what every side in this situation are saying.   On the one hand I really understand the concern of those who do not agree with the nations allowing all these people to enter and take up residence in their homeland, concern about this may change the face of Germany and Europe in the future.  Yet, on the other hand, I also resonate with the desire to help, love, serve, care for and witness to those who are in need.  I have been asking our Lord, to help me sort this through as a Pastor.     

What I offer to you is what has helped me.  That is the reminder that we believers live in two kingdoms. One we call the “kingdom of the left hand.”  This is the rule God exercises through the government (and other authorities).  The purpose of this kingdom is to maintain law and order in society.  St. Paul writes in Romans 13.   “For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad… for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. The government’s job is to protect the well-being of its citizens, to enforce laws and to insure the public welfare.  The other kingdom is the Kingdom of the Right Hand, sometimes called the Kingdom of God’s grace.  This is the kingdom God establishes in people’s lives by the gift of His Son Jesus The goal of this kingdom is salvation.  The work of this kingdom is done through the Gospel, not through law… through forgiving and loving people in Jesus Christ.  God’s people do the work of this kingdom by sharing God’s love in Christ with friends, family, neighbors and strangers, God’s Spirit works through that witness to bring faith into people’s hearts, to make them members of the Kingdom of God.  Witness and acts of mercy are the work of this right hand kingdom.

What does all that have to do with this refugee situation?  Well we Christians live at the same time in both kingdoms.  On the one hand as citizens of whatever nation we belong to, we Christians (in loving our neighbors as ourselves) may have all sorts of opinions about what our nation should do – from closing borders to opening them, from settling these refugees to sending them back, and many places in between.  I understand the different thoughts.  I would not presume to tell the German people or any other people how they should think about all of this. I am just a guest here and I know that I would struggle with this if it was happening in my homeland. 

At the same time, we Christians also live as citizens of God’s kingdom of grace.  In this kingdom we are once again called to love our neighbors as ourselves.  In the parable of the Good Samaritan Jesus reminds us, that our neighbor is any person in need that God lays across our path.  Right now, whether we agree with how they came here or not, these folks are our neighbors in need.  God has laid them across our path. Our call is, by word and deed, to love, serve, and care for the needs of our neighbors. 

The words of God in Leviticus 19 really help me.  God reminds the people of Israel that they were once refugees in a foreign land.  “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.”  The same is true for us.  We were once strangers and aliens but now we are God’s people through Christ.  Yes some are often ungrateful for the help they are given, but then I am reminded that it was “while we were God’s enemies that we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son.”  (Romans 5).  God calls us to love others as He has loved us. 

Can a believer be of two minds on this?  Can a believer be of the opinion that the Government should not let so many refugees in and at the same time, love those refugees with all her heart?  Yes, it’s possible, in the same way that it’s possible for me to vehemently oppose abortion as a Christian citizen and at the same time love and care with all my heart for the woman who has had an abortion.  I am reminded of a time back in the 1980s when there was resentment in the USA over refugees fleeing Cuba and students from other countries studying in America.  The head of World missions came to our church that year and gave us some food for thought.  He reminded us that many of these people were coming to us from places we were not allowed to go with the Gospel.  Now God was bringing them to us, giving us the opportunity to share God’s love with them.  Many would be changed by that Gospel.  Then some would go back to their homeland, and take with them the Gospel to places where we couldn’t go.  Is there tension for us as believers in working out how to react on the one hand as citizens and on the other as children of a loving God?  Yes.   That’s the tale of living in two Kingdoms.  What makes such paradox possible?   Both kingdoms are governed by the same God.