Christians love immigrant neighbors by obeying Jesus’ command to love your neighbor as yourself: treating every person with dignity, meeting real needs, and showing hospitality, whatever someone’s legal status. Loving our neighbors also means thinking globally. Most of the world’s poorest people will never immigrate anywhere, so compassion includes helping people flourish where they live.
Who Is My Neighbor?
Jesus summed up God’s law in two commands.
Luke 10:27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
When an expert in the law asked, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus told the parable of the good Samaritan. The irony was hard to miss: the hero was a Samaritan, someone Jewish listeners looked down on, who stopped to help a Jewish man left for dead. Your neighbor is anyone God puts in your path, especially someone in need.
Love Those in Your Community
Loving our neighbors starts with treating people with dignity and respect, and it shows up in action.
James 2:15-16 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?
That might mean helping a family find work or housing, teaching English, inviting someone to dinner, or simply learning a neighbor’s name and story. “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers” (Hebrews 13:2). Jesus even said that when we welcome a stranger in need, it’s as if we’re welcoming him (Matthew 25:35).
Love Those Who Aren’t Here
Compassion also looks beyond our borders. Many of the world’s poorest people will never have the chance to immigrate. The most effective help often meets needs at the source: sponsoring a child, supporting trustworthy ministries, or partnering with churches in other countries. Check how well an organization uses its donations so your giving does the most good.
That might mean living more simply so others can simply live. Skipping a meal out or a few coffees each month could change a child’s life. James describes the kind of faith God values: “to look after orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1:27).
Priorities Without Indifference
Some Christians argue that a government should prioritize the care and protection of its own citizens, and the Bible does show a principle of caring for those closest to us first: “Let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Galatians 6:10). But priorities are never an excuse for indifference. Whatever we believe about policy, every person we meet bears God’s image and deserves our kindness.
The Takeaway
Jesus commands us to love our neighbors, and our neighbor is anyone we meet. Show dignity and practical help to immigrants in your community, and look for ways to help people flourish where they live. Our compassion shouldn’t depend on someone’s legal status.
