THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, the number of people displaced, put in danger, or forced from their homes right now is historically unprecedented. In Syria alone, half of the population—that’s eleven million people—has either been displaced or killed.[6] Many people are divided over what to do with these individuals, and the issue is undoubtedly complex. Nevertheless, as followers of Christ, we have an obligation to minister to refugees, for they are made in God’s image and many are in desperate need of the gospel.

Rather than seeing refugees as a political problem, Christians around the world ought to be eager to address their urgent physical and spiritual needs. Many of these people have never even heard the gospel, which means that we have an opportunity to reach the unreached right in our own backyards. Our response should not be driven by fear, but rather by faith. We should remember that it is only by God’s grace that we are not refugees. How, then, can we fail to extend to others the compassion that Christ has shown to us?