4th November 2025 | Dave Bookless | 0 comments

Migration

Through this year, we’ve been looking at the natural world from micro to macro, from tiny organisms to global ecosystems. Migration is a theme that links both. Butterflies cross continents; songbirds weighing a few grams fly thousands of miles. Some of the statistics are extraordinary:  

Another kind of migration has also been in the news. Humans have always migrated, locally and globally, driven by conflict, economic and environmental factors. The biblical people of Israel remembered, ‘my father was a wandering Aramean’.[iii] Yet today, we live in an era of unprecedented human migration. The number of international migrants within the Americas alone grew from 34.8 million in 1990 to 78.7 million by mid-2024.[iv] Environmental changes, particularly human-induced climate change, have become ‘the great displacer’. Predictions of climate refugees and migrants by 2050 vary hugely, with some suggesting over 1 billion. A median estimate, based on multiple studies, suggests over 170 million migrants within regions – not including intercontinental migrants.[v]  

I’ve been reflecting on how migrating birds and butterflies cross national borders with impunity whilst human migrants face political barriers. Yet, on a changing planet, with increasingly unstable ecosystems, both human and nonhuman migrants are suffering. More than 30,000 people drowned trying to cross the Mediterranean between 2014 and 2024, with at least another 12,000 missing, presumed drowned.[vi] The western race of the Monarch butterfly has lost an estimated 99.9% of its population.[vii] The latest estimate of the annual Wildebeest migration in the Serengeti-Mara is under 600,000, less than 50% of previous estimates.[viii] Migratory birds face huge challenges with increasing desertification, extreme weather and changes to phenology (the flowering dates of plants).[ix] 

So, as Christians, how should we respond to migration? I want to suggest three simple ideas that perhaps relate to both human and wildlife migration. 

WONDER 

As a bird-ringer (bander), I have the privilege of holding tiny warblers that have navigated across oceans, mountain ranges and deserts to return to their breeding grounds. Even the most hardened atheist can have moments of awe at the miracle of migration. Let’s reawaken that childlike sense of joyful wonder. Let’s also reflect on the dangerous, desperate journeys made by those whose crops have failed, whose land is flooded or dried out, and who seek a better life. 

WORRY 

The statistics on wildlife migration are deeply disturbing in a world of habitat destruction, chaotic weather and changing climate. Worry may not be the best word, but we should lament and mourn at what our human choices have done to God’s world. Surely, we should also be deeply concerned atthe suffering of vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers and the very real political challenges caused by mass migration? Words written thousands of years ago still speak to us: ‘The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself.’[x] 

WELCOME 

The practical result of wonder and worry is welcome. We are called to create spaces and communities where migrants can thrive. Jesus said, ‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.’[xi] I like to apply those words to both nonhuman and human migrants. Our little London church faced this very recently when our newest member, an Iranian refugee, was suddenly made homeless and needed very practical help. Whether it’s putting up nest boxes for Swifts, planting for pollinators, protecting overwintering sites in Mexico or Congo, or supporting A Rocha’s critically important projects and research, we are called to create a welcoming home for all. 

Finally, the prophet Jeremiah wrote: ‘Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the Lord.’[xii] This somewhat unfavourable comparison with migratory birds should challenge us to seek God’s heart for all migrants, whether insects, birds or our fellow human mammals. 

[i] https://www.birdlife.org/news/2018/06/27/migration-marathons-7-unbelievable-bird-journeys (accessed 14/10/2025) 

[ii] https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2023/1/the-record-breaking-bird-that-flew-from-alaska-to-australia-731576 (accessed 14/10/2025) 

[iii] Deuteronomy 26:5 

[iv] United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2025 

[v] https://www.statista.com/chart/26117/average-number-of-internal-climate-migrants-by-2050-per-region/ (accessed 14/10/2025) 

[vi] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1082077/deaths-of-migrants-in-the-mediterranean-sea (accessed 14/10/2025) 

[vii] https://iucn.org/press-release/202207/migratory-monarch-butterfly-now-endangered-iucn-red-list (accessed 14/10/2025) 

[viii] https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2025-09-10-ai-satellite-survey-challenges-long-standing-estimates-serengeti-wildebeest-numbers (accessed 14/10/2025) 

[ix] https://www.birdlife.org/news/2025/02/07/flying-into-danger-how-climate-change-threatens-migratory-birds (accessed 14/10/2025) 

[x] Leviticus 19:34 

[xi] Matthew 25:35 

[xii] Jeremiah 8:7 

Categories: Reflections
About Dave Bookless

Dave is Director of Theology for A Rocha International, where he works to embed creation care into international Christian organizations, theological institutions, and mission movements. His past roles with A Rocha include being an International Trustee and the co-founder of A Rocha UK (with his wife Anne). He has a PhD from Cambridge University on biblical theology and biodiversity conservation, and has contributed to many books and articles, including Planetwise, available in six languages. Born and raised in India, Dave has a love for Indian food, Indian culture and Indian Christianity. Dave is also a qualified bird-ringer and loves birding, islands, running and mountains.

View all posts by Dave Bookless (77)

Comments are closed.