Heirs and Alligator Alcatraz
by Danielle Mendoza, co founder of Connect Global and Hills Global Church
I am heartbroken and deeply embarrassed to be associated in any way with a geography, group, or community that could find joy, pride, or satisfaction in the thought of alligators tearing apart human lives.
The mere idea that such suffering could be celebrated or justified grieves my heart. I can’t help but wonder how many of those being held in “Alligator Alcatraz” are actually heirs to salvation and the Kingdom of God?
Galatians 4:4-7
‘’But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.’’
Romans 8:16–17
“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ…”
Galatians 3:29
“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
As believers, we are eager to claim the promises of God for ourselves. We read scripture and find comfort in knowing we are chosen, loved, and destined for eternal life. But far too often, we draw a line around who those promises are for. Surely they apply to me, we think. But not to them, the asylum seeker, the immigrant, the desperate dreamer risking it all for a chance at a better life.
Scripture doesn’t give us permission to inhibit the reach of God’s compassion. Scripture actually reminds us that we were once foreigners, strangers to the covenants of promise (Ephesians 2:12–13)1, until mercy found us. We didn’t earn our place at the table. It was grace, and grace alone, that seated us as sons and daughters.
So who are those in Alligator Alcatraz? They are either already our brothers and sisters in Christ—co-heirs of the same promises we hold, or they are potential heirs, still waiting to hear that they are loved, that they are seen, that Jesus came for them too. The Great Commission2 has never been geographically exclusive. Neither was the cross.
Instead of seeing them as people Jesus died to save, we reduce them to headlines. Labels. Numbers. Threats. We allow culture to disciple us into fear, hate, and dehumanization. We conveniently forget these are very the people Jesus calls us to go to.
Matthew 25:43,45
“I was a stranger and you did not invite Me in… whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.”
Maybe it’s time to reread Luke 10:25-373 The Parable of the Good Samaritan
We can debate immigration policy. We can have different views on borders and law. But the posture of our hearts, our compassion, our acts of mercy are not optional for those who call themselves disciples of Jesus.
John 13:35
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
The world is watching.
What are they seeing in us? Compassion or cruelty? Mercy or mockery?
I have seen more hatred, more pride, and more greed surrounding this issue than my heart can comfortably carry. We should be grieved, this should drive us to our knees in repentance and prayer.
We are spiritual heirs not because we were born into the right country, but because Jesus covered our filthy rags of sin and separation from Him.
Do not forget the high cost of that grace. Do not ignore how freely that same grace must flow through us to others.
Ephesians 2:12-13
“Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in ChristJesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
Matthew 28:19
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Luke 10:25–37
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
“And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”