Guiseppe DiPasquale

Guiseppe DiPasquale

Seeing my grandfather's name engraved on the memorial wall at Ellis Island was more moving than I had expected. Maybe that was because it came at the end of touring the island, after reading the accounts of the people who immigrated to America in the late 1800's and early 1900's and realizing what so many, like my grandfather, went through to come to this nation.

During this period of open immigration, men, women and children came by the thousands every day hoping to carve out a better life for themselves and their families. Leaving behind the familiarity of their home countries, Italy, Gerrmany, Greece and many others, they ventured across the Atlantic on freighters and on steamships taking with them only what they could carry. The pictures of them disembarking with their arms full of their belongings (before the days of rolling luggage with telescopic handles) and their immigration papers in their teeth to present to officials painted a picture of a different kind of heroism than we are used to today.

These men and women left behind everything they knew and set out for a country they had never seen before. Most left their father and mother behind, seeing them for the last time. They risked an uncertain future, decisions on where to settle had to be made, jobs had to be found, a place to stay was needed and yet they came, millions in total.

Abraham did something similar, only not by sea, 4,000 years earlier. He left his home in Ur of the Chaldees in response to God's call:

"The Lord said to Abram, 'Leave your country, your people, and
your father's household and go to the land I will show you'." Genesis 12:1

And New Testament history is filled with accounts of people who left all behind to follow the Lord, some moving great distances phyically, and some sacrificing much materially. And still others made choices right where they were, never moving an inch, to forsake all and follow Christ in a walk of faith that at times can be both incredibly difficult and tremendously rewarding.

What's interesting is that the answer to "Why" is the same in both situations. They made a decision to change the course of their lives because of the chance of a better life, one filled with hope for the future, one filled with new opportunities, and despite the risks and hardships they launched out in faith. Immigrant heroes and heroes of faith have more in common than you might think, a courage and a bravery to not settle for the status quo but to go after the life God intended.

By the time I was born, my grandfather was in his 60's, a frail man speaking broken English. He never talked about his journey to America, never mentioned Ellis Island and what he went through when he left Italy behind. This week I've gained another piece of perspective to be thankful for.

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church