The Boundaries of Their Dwelling Place

Today's Reading

Read Acts 17:24-27: "The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him."

Then read Romans 13:1-7: "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those who exist have been instituted by God... For he is God's servant for your good."

Reflection

If the first four days of this plan have emphasized God's heart for the stranger, today we turn to a truth that the political left is sometimes reluctant to acknowledge: God also established nations, borders, and governmental authority. A biblical approach to immigration must hold both realities together or it is not biblical at all.

Paul's speech in Athens contains a remarkable theological claim. God, who made every nation from one man, also "determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place." The God who loves the sojourner is the same God who established the nations and their territories. National boundaries are not merely human inventions. They are part of God's providential ordering of human life.

N.T. Wright placed this in its broader theological context: "God established the nations and their boundaries. This does not mean every particular border is sacred, but it does mean that the principle of ordered national life is part of God's providential governance." There is a crucial distinction here. The existence of nations and borders is part of God's design. But no particular border is eternal, absolute, or beyond critique. Borders exist to serve human flourishing, not the other way around.

Romans 13 reinforces this by affirming the legitimate authority of government. The state bears the sword not arbitrarily but as "God's servant for your good." Government has a responsibility to maintain order, protect its citizens, and administer justice. This includes the right and duty to regulate immigration — to determine who enters, under what conditions, and through what processes.

Christians who advocate for completely open borders must reckon with these texts. A world without borders is not the biblical vision. It is an abstraction that ignores the practical necessity of ordered community. Nations have legitimate interests in security, economic stability, and cultural cohesion. A government that cannot control its borders cannot fulfill its Romans 13 mandate to maintain order and protect the vulnerable — including the vulnerable already within its borders.

But — and this is where the other side must listen — Tim Keller rightly observed that biblical order is not the same as exclusion: "The government is called to protect its citizens and maintain order. But 'order' in the biblical sense is not the same as exclusion. Order exists to serve justice, and justice includes care for the vulnerable." A border policy that is orderly but merciless fails the biblical test just as surely as a border policy that is compassionate but chaotic.

The challenge is to hold sovereignty and compassion together. God determined borders and commanded love for the sojourner. He instituted government and identified himself with the stranger. These are not contradictions. They are the two hands of divine justice.

In practice, this means that Christians should be able to affirm all of the following simultaneously: nations have a right to borders; immigration processes should be orderly and fair; enforcement must be humane; refugees fleeing persecution deserve special consideration; undocumented immigrants already present in a community are not thereby stripped of their dignity or their claim on Christian compassion; and the church's obligation to welcome the stranger transcends whatever the law requires.

This is a harder position to hold than either "build the wall" or "no borders." It requires the kind of nuanced, both/and thinking that does not fit on a bumper sticker. But it is the position that most faithfully reflects the full counsel of Scripture.

Going Deeper

Where do you lean instinctively — toward emphasizing borders and order, or toward emphasizing compassion and welcome? Whichever direction you lean, spend time today with the texts that challenge your instinct. If you lean toward order, sit with Deuteronomy 10:18-19. If you lean toward compassion, sit with Romans 13:1-7. Let Scripture correct your imbalance rather than confirm your bias.