This article in Small Wars Journal compares the violence in Mexico on the southern border of the US with “barbarians at the gate” – which is an historical mention of the barbarians in the time of Rome. This is a well known piece of missions history. The barbarians were pushed south toward Rome by the movements of nomadic tribes in Central Asia (e.g. Atilla). The barbarians sacked Rome several times but basically wanted to become more Roman themselves (you can read about this whole interplace in the very well written popular account given in How the Irish saved civilization).
(Side note: one of the most interesting aspects of that book is the account of the lowly tax collector. We often think of these guys in Roman times as the corrupt officials but in reality–while some were corrupt–they were really caught between a rock and a hard place. They were pressed into service by Rome and essentially had to collect a set amount from their neighbors. I pity them.)
Anyway: Christians (with a few exceptions) really failed to reach out to the barbarians and evangelize them. The little bit they did helped when the European tribes took over much of Rome’s territory but it would have been a lot better if they had done more.
So I am left wondering, just briefly: right now a lot of missionary effort to Mexico is being pulled back (notably short-term trips) for fears of safety. But… this may be the very time when we need to somehow redouble this effort. We are called to be peacemakers, right?
No solutions, and I wouldn’t necessarily want to send my kids on a short-term trip to Mexico, either, but it is something that we need to ponder. How do we bless Mexico during this time of difficulty?
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