Jesus says: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also” (Matthew 13:24-26). Almost every day, Persian Christians from other European countries are begging us Lutheran church workers here in Germany for help. They fled here because they were about to be deported back to their homeland by their host country, even though they had been productive members of that society for years and were baptized long ago. They are bona fide followers of Jesus, as their pastors in the former host country attest. In fact, one refugee even sports a cross tattoo on his hand (see image). These Christians have joined the millions of people from Islamic countries (and also Ukraine) who have sought shelter in recent years. The German welfare system is swamped by this mass immigration. But, while most asylum seekers are fine people, unfortunately, some “weeds” have also crept in, committing increasingly frequent “lone wolf” terrorist attacks. It is thus not surprising that almost one in two Germans are now in favor of curbing immigration. But, while trying to remove the “weeds,” tragically, European governments are also pulling up many stalks of “wheat”—those law-abiding Christian citizens. How can we help them, including the man with the cross tattoo who is married and has a young daughter? Refugee camps and the very few churches that offer church asylum are jam-packed…Please pray for wisdom and patience for us pastors and missionaries, as we baptize and teach, and try to find good options for Christians in jeopardy. And as overwhelmed governments try to deal with the effects of this mass immigration, please pray especially for those innocent stalks of “wheat”—our dear Christian brothers and sisters who, through no fault of their own, are being uprooted and in danger of being deported to their old Muslim homeland, where nothing good awaits those who have converted from Islam to Christianity.
The Tiews in Germany 