We must advocate for all children! #immigration
Pastor Julio Guarneri of Calvary Baptist Church shared this with us last Sunday; a story that truly touched my heart…one of advocacy for children. His call for advocacy was larger that the Biblical witness, it was challenging us believers to advocate for children. He shared the life of Jesus, specifically the time period between birth and death. Their are limited stories from this time period, but we can learn so much from these narratives during the childhood and young adult development. He broke them out in four areas, with the urge for advocacy and action.
- Jesus’s Intellectual Development — We must advocate and act to provide all children education.
- Jesus’s Physical Development — We must advocate and provide good food and clean water for all children.
- Jesus’s Spiritual Development — We must pray and read the Bible with our children regularly, all children should learn their spiritual being and legacy.
- Jesus’s Social Development — We must advocate and provide opportunities for all children to experience new social situations; see those different from us, and learn to love one another.
He posed this question, “Is there a children issue with passage across the border?” Well the answer is yes, thousands have crossed by themselves, alone; now lost in their new America. They came hear either by Coyote’s who were paid to bring them across, families dropping them off telling them to walk across the bridge to the white and green SUV’s, or escaping the harsh reality of their environment where drugs, cartels, kidnaping, and violence are a part of their previous normal.
Pastor Guarneri went one step further and spoke for advocacy of public policy, supporting better foster care and the need for more foster parents. “The Valley” that surrounds McAllen TX does not have a children problem, but a Biblical opportunity…to be good neighbors providing new homes for these displaced children. Is it a new era of Christian formation *or* is “The Valley” truly 25 years ahead of the rest of the United States of America when it comes to multicultural policy, unity, and love?