It's the Children!

A little boy, born without legs and only one very small arm ... his mother here ... illegally, seeking care for her son.

I could't take my eyes off this little boy ... held so sweetly by his mother ... along with other mothers and their children ... on the run, on the move, searching, to do what any parent does: seek the welfare of our children.

I looked at the little boy ... innocent ... holding up his little stub of an arm pointing at something, and tears welled up ...

And how many children are like him ... and his parents ... and families seeking life ... fleeing untold cartel violence in their homelands ... living every day with gang extortion ... death close at hand?

In the face of great danger, they seek the welfare of their children.

And I wonder about America.

What risks are we willing to take for the children?

I fear that some in our ranks have blown out of proportion the "danger" of immigrants, playing upon irrational fear, crafting "alternative facts," crafting a narrative of lies and half-truths, in order to further their own nefarious political goals, which is mostly about money and power.

And so the heart of American has hardened, and it seems, growing harder every hour.

In some kind of a mindless quest of absolute safety ... and as is the case of any mindless obsession dealing with self-preservation at all costs, the heart grows cruel and callous.

We are forgetting some very important realities:

1) There is no such thing as absolute safety.
2) A nation that fears is a nation that is losing its mind and heart.
3) A nation that turns away from the children is a nation choosing blindness.
4) A nation that chooses fear chooses insanity.

As a Christian, I'm clear: Love entails risk.

When Jesus moved south toward Jerusalem, he was warned repeatedly of the danger facing him. But love entrails risk.

The Apostle Paul knew all about risk, and so did the Prophets.

But love entails risk.

At the risk of losing our humanity, we choose fear.

At the hope of gaining our humanity, we choose love, and whatever risks love entails.

And for every immigrant who might pose a threat (very low), love can open the door to thousands of children, their families, and to the world.

And in so opening the doors, so the heart leaps for joy.

And we'll be the stronger for it.