Hardliners

The world in which we live in is clearly a place of important lines. On a map there are lines that when crossed change the entire government which enforces what is legal and illegal within their sphere of legislation. The present controversy over immigration is really about exactly how strong that line around the nation is to keep out persons that are for whatever reason not considered helpful to what happens on the inside of that national boundary. Within our nation there are hardliners who would want that line to be reinforced by a fence and if others had their way it might be as big as the great wall of China manned by the nation's armed forces. Others think the whole idea of these national boundaries is a thing to be changed or perhaps even eliminated. Even within our nation in the state of Texas there was big controversy when congressional district lines were redrawn in such a way that it was seen by some to allow for voters of one party and race to elect more representatives to congress than would have been possible under the old district boundaries. This can all seem very simple but when other people draw lines in different ways than you would draw them then you can bet there is going to be a conflict of words and perhaps weapons.

I guess we are really taking up the entire subject of definition. To define is to cut off a thing from all other things so that it can have an identity among others that is clear. Lines help with clarity as do good definitions. Have you ever thought about the fact that when someone goes to the moon and looks at the world as it really is there are no lines on earth to be seen at all. In fact it is not nature that draws lines but people who develop a civilization within nature that draw their own lines. I know it might be hard to imagine but there was a time when there were no national boundaries or governments to enforce them. Nature does not have hard lines but everything blends into the next thing. There was time when there were no correct religions or temple buildings. Much of our feeling of security in the face of chaos comes from our political boundries and religious boundries both of which seek to help us cope with the massive powerful sublime mystery about us. Nature is chaoticly free and unbound. That is a freedom that is really very scary as there are no boundaries to enclose or exclude. Civilization and culture build lines to keep the good in and keep the bad out. Sidewalks and nicely edged lawns are not a part of nature but of civilization. Nature just lets it all exist together "good" and "bad" and it is simply wild like a savage beast. Civilization ultimately wants to keep life in and exclude death. "Bad" things always lead more to pain and finally death than "good" things. It is true that one administration will draw lines in one time and place that are not the same as lines drawn by another administration but when the core motives of "why the line there and not here?" is examined it is because the "best" lines provide the most protection and strongest feelings of security. Rich people have big walls around their homes and country clubs have those walls for the same reasons. Some lines are very hard.

The various cultures and civilizations of this world have all drawn their lines with rulers and rules. Chaos is one frightful enemy and needs to be kept out. Lines keep chaos at bay at least for a while. Finally nature asserts her power over all the "line drawers" and the hurricane comes right across the "border" and blows away things on both sides of the "line" it never did recognize in the least.

Nations war against nations to protect or expand their identity lines. This is the power of man against man and it is the core of the political and military vision and power that defines the situation in which the modern world finds itself embattled. If we could see all the imaginary lines drawn by all the political and religious divisions in the world it would no doubt look like a ball of tangled string that would take a magician to untangle. Could be called a mess.

The "good" is of course on the "inside" of the boundaries men draw and the "bad" is always outside. The problem is that everyone is on the "bad" side of another person's lines. The tug of War becomes the norm in such a scenario. Those on the side of "God-good" are actively on a mission to either expand their boundaries to include more land and people into their own "inside" or they actively are seeking to destroy those "outside" of their boundaries. Of course God is on their side. Morality and charity is limited to those "inside the lines that have been drawn by the leadership of one "group".

Of course this goes beyond geographical lines to religious, political, economic and even aesthetic lines. The beautiful wish to exclude the ugly from their "set". Hollywood has its own city limits. All the while nature watches and seems to laugh and subjects the entirety to its uniform "rules". Man had sought to exclude nature and its unity and in the end finally realizes that all walls of man will be laid low. Every kingdom of the individual and the nation state is destroyed along with all "holy temples" and all revealed for the prideful illusion that it was. There really never were lines in nature at all and the social contract between mankind was only a part of nature and like autumn turning to winter each vanishes in its turn.

What if mankind could come to terms with the reality about us instead of seeking to create artificial kingdoms? What if we lived according to what is rather than what we would create as a "better" alternative. What if governments , theories, visions , and identities were viewed from a higher universal perspective that was inclusive rather than exclusive? What if the line between inclusive and exclusive were devalued. What if we accepted death and pain as just as ordinary and normal as life and pleasure? They really are all about us and no man made kingdom can exclude the "bad" or finally capture all the "good". What if we had the courage to drop our fear of those on the other side of the "lines"? What if we realized that mankind did not rule in the final analysis and we took ourselves much less seriously? Might the true "God" rise and scatter all our idols like the TRUTH revealing a lie? Could we see the commonality we share with those about us in new ways? What if the line was drawn in a circle around the Earth? Isn't that the way nature has drawn it? In fact there are really no lines drawn at all except by the warring, cutting, definining, tension laden, fearful mind of man. What would happen to our "world" if all lines were gone. ALL lines? Would it be the chaos we FEAR or would it be the reality that has given us all we have ever known from our birth to this very moment and never gave a second thought to all our lines? Would our decision to drop lines have any more effect on the nature about us and within us as our prideful decision to create the lines in the first place? There would in fact be no change at all with nature which includes mankind. When the lines of a district are redrawn by the man made government the flowers are not impressed. Perhaps we draw lines because we fear the unknown and in fact the unknown is on both sides of every line we have ever drawn or re-drawn. Hardliners are all about us with their weapons in hand bringing slaughter to their own brothers and sisters on the other "side" of lines they have drawn and then defended or expanded. Often it is the sword that draws the line with blood. Did we ourselves create the "sides" and then pick up weapons to slaughter one another for being on the wrong side of it? How strange that from two different perspectives the "good" and the "evil" are on both sides of the lines while some pretend that the good is on one side and the evil on the other.

Wasn't it the knowledge of good and evil that got us in this fix in the first place? Could it be the pride of being "good" is the enemy of us all. Could the death that we so fear be really a "passing over" lines that we ourselves have drawn? Hmmmm
I guess we will just have to SEE. Perhaps so loving the WORLD rather than just those on our side of the "lines" might be something we should consider . Could there be a "kingdom" that rather than setting up new lines becomes clear or revealed only when all other lines are erased and this causes all walls, ALL walls fall down. In such a kingdom judgement would be impossible; peace would replace conflict between "sides"; and joy of wholeness would reign. Very precious and strong idols would have to be released and buried dead. In fact perhaps what is called for is a death to lines and a resurrection to a new kingdom. Could that change take place within us where the lines were created in the first place? The line between death and life would also be gone and so we might say the last enemy of death itself was OVER come. Is there really one more line to be "crossed" before we enter eternity or is there no line but one of our own making there as well? Could eternity be here like a kingdome in our midst once we no longer see lines? God would stare us in the face but perhaps this real God would not have lines all about "Him" to form one more line drawn image. This God would be one that would not truck any image which would just seek to limit him within and without. Without lines to form an image God would not have an inside or outside at all. Infinity and Eternity and the real God don't do well with lines. The manger, the cross and Easter would know no lines. Both heaven and nature would sing and the kingdomS of this world would become the kingdom of God who every has been the lord of both life and death, cradle and cross. God would indeed be all in all and there would be no godS before Him. Until such a "time" there will be wars and rumors of wars both within men of "worldly" kingdoms and in the "world" about them. Death like a spectre will hold all in these "kingdoms" in fear causing the citizens of such worldly kingdoms to build one wall after another to keep that Wolf out of their little straw houses.

Could it be our clearly defined and cherished "images" of what is "good" are only idols of death breathing fear into our hearts.
ONE little WORD will fell them but all our words only add fuel to their fire. The "Hardliners" do the bidding of idols with swords in hands and sharp words in their mouths. Such zealots never seeing the Silent Word Sleeping in the midst of a Silent Night. Perhaps baptism was never meant to take us from the bad side and put us on the good side but rather it was meant to be the death of us altogether along with our kingdom of sides. That is the real death not the imaginary death most people think they clearly see and then fear all their lives until the actual death comes to expose their dearly held lie.

Immigration from "here" to "there" is only a problem if there is a real boundry and hardliners to hold up the wall. The hardliners and their "walls" -"both" vanish in the arms of death which also in its turn vanishes in the face of LIFE. LIFE alone remains and that is indeed good news. When that happens all the children leave children's church and go to Big Church (which is really the same thing) when the lines are removed from our minds and they are renewed by the one WORD which is God who has no hard lines at all. When will we forget the idea of God taking our side and realize that God is ever and eternally over all.