Ornaments of Grace – Sarah Judd-Lam

…Let justice descend, O heavens, like dew from above, like gentle rain let the skies drop it down. Let the earth open and salvation bud forth; let justice also spring up! I, the Lord, have created this… Turn to me and be safe, all you ends of the earth, for I am God, there is no other!…Isaiah 45: 6c-8, 18, 21c-25
 

 
Sarah Judd-Lam is a freelance writer who likes to cook, read, and stream movies. More importantly, though, she is a woman of faith who passionately seeks justice for everyone. She calls us to care for refugees and welcome them as Christ Himself. While she lives in Australia, the worrisome – no, the inhuman way refugees are treated is a sin many countries share. Sarah understands concerns people have, but she cannot come to terms with the harsh policies put into place to keep people out of a country where they are only seeking a safe place to live.

Sarah admits that since the Islamic terror attack of 9/11 and the overwhelming number of people displaced more recently by wars in the Middle East have caused fear to grow. Fear has caused some to loathe offering asylum to those needing it, resulting in less than Christian policies.

In the United States we know that some detention facilities have offered little space, food, or medical care to refugees. Often legal help is unavailable, and refugees are sent back to their countries of origin without so much as a chance for fair processing. Sometimes they even have to go back without their children.

While most refugees are truly good people seeking safety, some politicians stir fear so they can pass hardline policies designed to keep even the best out. But, as Sarah points out, this is hardly the Christian approach. In the Psalms, God is called our refuge at least forty times. Shouldn’t we, as children of God, provide refuge also? The Old Testament shows how the Israelites were mistreated in the foreign lands of Egypt and Babylon. Early church members, too, were often persecuted because of ways different from others.

While Christians, through the centuries, have treated people of other faiths and nationalities with hostility many times, Sarah urges us to take refuge in God and offer that same safety to our brothers and sisters seeking refuge among us.

Sarah Judd-Lam is our eighteenth Ornament of Grace.