| Some people in Europe have a naive idea that every refugee is going to be humbly grateful for every bit of help they receive. Human nature is not like that.There are hundreds of thousands of refugees on the move across Europe. Think of any city of that size in the US. Is any such city composed entirely of nice law abiding people? Or do they inevitably include a certain number of psychopaths, drunks, mentally ill, rapists, gangbangers etc?Then add in the factor that many of these people have witnessed (and in some cases experienced) horrendous atrocities of murder and torture. They have also learned to hate and fear anyone that wears a uniform.It would be folly to think that they are all wonderful people, nearly as much folly as assuming that they are all religious fundamentalists who will unite to form an army.History tells us that many of the immigrants that came to the US generations ago were a similar mixed bunch of people. Some of them were industrious and made great contributions to society. Others set up the mafia.When such large numbers of people are on the move it is also inevitable that a few ISIS operatives will infiltrate them. The same thing happened in the 1930s where a small number of Nazi spies were among the Jewish refugees who fled Germany.Some people ask why so many of the refugees are young males. The answer is that the route out of Syria, involving tiny boats crossing rough seas, is so arduous that only the fit will attempt it. A majority of the bodies that are washed up on the beaches each day are the old, women and children.The current migration in Europe holds both great dangers and great opportunities. The rule of law needs to be upheld, and those who break it should be imprisoned and subject to the same penalties as anyone else in Europe. But I do believe that the correct and compassionate course of action is to receive the refugees. It also, in my opinion, represents the greatest opportunity for evangelism that the European church has encountered in my lifetime.Please pray for the European Church. Next week I am in Germany addressing a gathering of Evangelical leaders from every country in Europe on how churches can respond to the crisis, win refugees to Christ, and see them added to our churches. Two weeks later I am addressing church leaders and politicians in Northern Ireland on the same issue. Then, in November, Grant McClung and I will be addressing European Pentecostal missionaries at their gathering in Italy on the missiological opportunities of the refugee crisis Senior Pastor, Solid Rock Church, DroghedaNational Overseer, Church of God, IrelandExecutive Director, Evangelical Alliance Irelandhttp://eaiseanchai.wordpress.com/ |