"Borders" ain't about books, kiddies...

Or perhaps they are.

The Great Libertarian Mantra (after All Things Mary Jane) is "Open Borders"
You know, national boundaries are just imaginary lines in the sand, which you Can't Even See From Space, so we should allow free entry and exit across these non-existent frontiers, because countries are just, you know, a state of mind.

Those with a thoughtful Biblical worldview (and no, that is not an oxymoron) may take instruction from the tower of Babel reportage, as well as from Paul's kindly talk with the philosophs at Areopagus in Acts 17.

²⁴ The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; ²⁵ nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; ²⁶ and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, ²⁷ that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us..." (NASB)

Apparently, then, God Almighty has drawn the borderlines, and has so done for a Reason. The relative isolation brought by national bounds and identity are to encourage a seeking, not for a Babel-style monolithic Federation of Humankind (which God's musing reveals the power of):

“Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them." (Genesis 11, NASB)

Mankind would have sought to be their own God, and to prevent this, the Almighty fractured the population of Earth into different languages, and thus nation-states. The mindsets derived from the separate languages and national identities were to drive home the fact that man needs God, and that He was overwhelmingly compelled to engineer a redemptive scheme to bring us to  Himself. Babel would have made Mankind to be rival god before Yahweh, and this appears to be what the UN would style itself to be. The various conditions in the several nations then and now would serve to create a desire for reconciliation, and if there is corruption or despotism in that country, to encourage the people to seek His help and deliverance.

In today's "refugee"-laden scene, the porous non-borders have populations looking for the easy out, succor from another country, rather than seeking God in Christ, and working to transform their countries into places of liberty. Of course, the anaemic "gospel" being preached in these areas does not serve to do more than inculcate a private, personal "faith", rather than proclaiming a life-and-nation-transforming one. The true Gospel has quelled practises like slavery time and again, and can transform the vilest and most obstreperous regime.

Some thoughts.

I would welcome yours.