Refugee Status

Currently, there is so much turmoil in our world that many have fallen into the status of being refugees. Many of them have fled from violence, others from natural disaster, and some from areas that have experienced drought for many years. Lent reminds us that we are all refugees. God formed us out of the dust of the earth; to that dust we will return. Our homeland is not on this earth; we are but sojourners and pilgrims in this world. Our ancestor, Abram, was called by God out of Ur of the Chaldees and promised that he would settle in the Promised Land. He was the first refugee, the first pilgrim seeking God and his homeland. A beautiful African-American spiritual reminds us all that we, like Abram, are destined for our homeland.

I am a poor pilgrim of sorrow.
I'm tossed in this wide world alone,
No hope have a high for tomorrow,
I've started to make heaven my home.
Sometimes I am tossed and driven, Lord,
Sometimes I don't know where to roam,
I've heard of a city called heaven,
I've started to make it my home.