In the animal world, every year hundreds of species migrate from one place to another in search for better survival conditions in the terrestrial globe. The journey champion is a small bird, the arctic tern whose scientific name is Sterna Paradisaea, from the sternides family.
Every year, this small bird flies more than 71.000 kilometers either going or coming zigzagging routes between Greenland and Antarctica. It is considered the longest regular animal migration route, hence so impressive to see the tremendous effort made by this little artic tern for its survival!
Similar phenomenon happens amongst human beings. People from different parts of the world leave behind their land in search for better working and livelihood conditions. Curiously however, we don’t seem to admire the emigration of humans as much as we admire the emigration of animals.
We live in a very selfish society where the different is faced as a serious threat to the own individualism. We accept foreigners as long as it is for our own benefit and not for theirs, we treat them with inferiority and we pay them smaller wages. Nevertheless, the Word of God teaches us to love our neighbour as ourselves and specifically treat the foreigner with acceptance, opportunity and support.
To look at everyone as brothers and sisters, as if they where from our own family, helps us change our rejection for reception and allow us to interact with all without fear and prejudices in an environment of sincerity and brotherhood.
In certain occasion Jesus said: “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26 NIV) Lets look at the artic tern to understand that the emigrants are also part of our own family.
- Where would you emigrate to if you had to?
- How many foreign friends do you really have?
(House for all nations, Isaiah 56:7 / All one in Jesus Christ Galatians 3:28)
Commissioner Torben Eliason is the Territorial Commander of the Southern Africa Territory