How should Christians view immigration?

Well, over the last couple of days and weeks I've heard plenty of media and political speculation on what will happen now that Romanians and Bulgarians have open access to live in the UK. 

The national narrative on immigration includes lines like: Labour’s open door policy on immigration has created a problem of significant magnitude (see Labour got it wrong); people must not be allowed to come to the UK and abuse our benefits system; it’s okay for immigrants to come here as long as they contribute to the costs of running the country; the economy will benefit from hard working and aspirational immigrants.

  

There are also the self interest parties who say things like; our way of life is being disturbed; our jobs are being stolen; immigrants are not integrating; there are cultural ghettos forming in our inner cities; communities are divided and fragmenting and so on.  

No one really seems to have a handle on what will happen, but one thing is for sure that life on these hallowed isles will be different and more diverse, at least for a while.

Bradford along with other areas have received its fair share of folk from oversea and we have people from various different faiths and beliefs from all over the world, so that it is easy to fit into the diversity.

How, then, should Christians view immigration?  

The great biblical story which began with Abraham makes what is happening a very positive thing indeed.  

In the opening chapters of the bible, God made a series of promises to Abraham.

As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations…I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. (Genesis 17:4-6)

Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. (Genesis 18:18)

I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”  (Genesis 22:17-18)

God has promised to bless all the nations, not just the individuals, of the earth through Abraham’s offspring. 

Therefore, any child of Abraham, that is all who by faith in Christ Jesus are Abraham’s offspring (Galatians 3:7), should view immigration as part of God’s plan to bless all nations.