Border
Border (Jesus at the Border)
Last night I went to sleep thinking about all my loved ones who identify as Christians, while they post memes about closing the borders and stopping the immigrants from getting in, I thought to myself, “What would the man they worship do in this situation? What would Jesus do at the border?”
I kept turning to the story in the Bible of the miracle of the loaves and fishes. If you’re not familiar with the story, there are two incidents (Matthew 15:32-39 and Mark 8:1-13) when there was a large crowd of hungry people and a limited amount of food (4,000 hungry men in one story and 5,000 in another; and that didn’t include the women and children, so it was likely many more than that).
“When Jesus saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion to help them.” (Matthew 9:36)
“I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”
His disciples answered:
“Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”
“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
“Jesus told the crowd to take a seat and practice gratitude. He gave thanks for the seven loaves; and then he took the seven loaves and the fish and broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn gave to the people. They all ate and were satisfied.”
There was more than enough for everyone. In both stories, there were leftovers.
This is similar to the Jewish story of Hanukkah (remember, Jesus was a Jew) in which there was only enough oil to keep the lights burning for a single day; yet a miracle occurred, and the oil lasted for eight days.
The Bible teaches that the faithful are rewarded. When we give thanks for what we already have, it multiplies.
I understand the scarcity fears people have that there will not be enough for them and theirs if they share all they have with others, but that’s not the belief Jesus had. Jesus had faith that all needs would be met, and they were. We forget that those who receive also contribute and the resources that seem to be depleted are often multiplied instead.
The role of a secure border is created to protect a nation, while welcoming those who are fleeing persecution. How do we do both? Through discernment.
If you enjoyed this piece, please check out, Homeless (How I Discern Who to Help), inspired by the above, Border (Jesus at the Border).
I’m Sage Justice, author of “Sage Words FREEDOM Book One.” and my purpose in life is to infuse empathy, wisdom, integrity, and humor (whenever possible) into universal challenges. When you like and share my posts, and follow my author page, it helps me spread messages of unity to create peace and understanding. If you’d like to read more pieces like this, please check out the book on Amazon, monthly articles at SageJustice.Substack.com, videos on YouTube (Sage Words: Almost Everything You Need to Know), inspiration on IG @SageWords2027, website and the podcast: Sage Words (Apple & Spotify). A like and follow on the Sage Justice, author page, on facebook is greatly appreciated. Thank you.