I’ll never forget the words prayed by a young man in Germany after Chancellor Angela Merkel made the bold decision to open German borders to migrants fleeing turmoil in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. As millions of refugees began flooding the country, German citizens were divided in their reactions. Some were ready and willing to extend this generosity to asylum seekers, while others felt unsure and insecure about how to interact with the influx of strangers; still others were outraged. But the young German felt privileged by the weight of the responsibility.
With tears in his eyes and passion in his voice, he cried, “Lord, thank You for bringing the nations to our doorsteps, when we were unwilling to go to them!”
The God of missions commissioned us to go into all the world in order to share the gospel with all nations. But few have been obedient to this calling. What if the Lord of the Harvest, in His grace and mercy, has sent migrants to us in response to our indifference?
In the world today, the number of international migrants has grown to an unprecedented number of 272 million. According to the 2020 World Migration Report, India had the largest number of migrants living abroad (17.5 million), followed by Mexico (11.8 million) and China (10.7 million). The top destination country remained the USA (50.7 million), followed by Germany (13.1 million).
Although the drastic increase in migration and the high number of refugees (25.9 million) has been considered a crisis and a stumbling block for some, it might actually be our kairos moment to “go into all the world.”
In this episode, you’ll gain practical ways to impact lives through the uncomplicated act of biblical hospitality. As you learn about the true meaning of hospitality and what the Bible has to say about it, I’m confident that you will make an even greater difference in the world by a decision to simply open your front door.
About AIMS.ORG
AIMS.ORG is a ministry dedicated to getting the message of Jesus to ethnic groups who have no access through training and sending native missionaries to establish church planting movements among them. Discover how your life can impact nations by visiting aims.org. {eoa}
Paul Schmidgall is married to Gabi and served as an overseer for the Church of God in Israel from 1987-1994. From 1994-2000, he served as overseer of the German Church of God and from 2000-2018 as dean and president of the European Theological Seminary. Since 2008 he has been serving with the Church of God as superintendent in the Middle East, and since 2018, Gabi and Paul have returned to Israel in order to minister at the Mount of Olives Study Center in Jerusalem.
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