No Borders

T

he border between Italy and Austria is well known for its customs checks. Trains crossing the border in either direction are stopped for several minutes while guards from both countries conduct a thorough search of all compartments and verify the passports and official documents of the passengers on board. I had the pleasure of experiencing this phenomenon first-hand in the spring of 1988.

I was studying in southern France and during spring break, I had a little over two weeks to travel. Most of my friends visited a small island off the coast of Spain; but I decided to do some travelling on the continent. My travels took me to Spain, Italy, Austria, and Germany. It was during these travels that the Austrian border guard taught me a valuable lesson about crossing over from one country into another.

I took the train from Rome, Italy to Salzburg, Austria. Because there were so many people travelling at the same time I was, the train was completely full. There were no empty seats to be found on the train and I stood for several hours before space became available. At last, a compartment opened and I could use one of the benches as a cot with my backpack serving as a pillow.

At four o'clock in the morning, a blinding light awakened me as the border guard turned on the compartment's light. There, in my face, was a German shepherd police dog sniffing for drugs. The guard asked to see my passport, took one look at the cover, saw I was from the United States, and let me go back to sleep. I was able to cross over into Austria with no difficulty. However, there were a few passengers who were detained for questioning. Eventually, the trains crossed into Austria but those detained by the border guard were not permitted entry into the country.

This is a stark contrast from the freedom I experienced over the past two days as I drove from Texas to North Carolina to spend the holidays with my family. As I crossed from one state to the next, there were no questions to answer, no papers to show, and no border guards to confront. Instead, I could come and go as I pleased. The entire country, every part of it, was opened to me with no obstacles to prevent me from arriving at home.

The relationship we have with God is directly comparable to my experience on the border between Rome and Austria. Before we become Christians, we have no legal basis permitting us access to God. Try as we may, we simply cannot cross over to where he is because we don't have the proper papers. We get stopped at several places on life's border and when we try to enter God's kingdom, we are refused. Our "spiritual passports" do not bear the seal of God and are not recognized by Him.

Neither our good works, nor our good intentions, nor our reputations, nor our verbally claiming to know God will permit us to enter his kingdom. The only way we are able to cross the border separating us from God is to change our citizenship and become a part of his kingdom. We do this by willfully renouncing our former allegiance to sin and willfully accepting Jesus Christ as our personal savior. This gives us a new passport, one that is instantly recognized by God and that grants us immediate entry into his kingdom.

Once we change our citizenship, we have free access to all of God's promises and resources. We are free to travel the road of life without fear of border crossings, interrogations, or customs officials. We may travel with confidence and assurance that we belong to God's family and that he welcomes us whenever we call on him and wherever we are on life's road. Our passport, our legal claim as citizens of God's kingdom, is the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Jesus, himself, said in John 10:9 "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.” Jesus is the border guard. It is only through him and by him that we gain access to God. There is no other way to cross over except through Christ. Once we accept him, once we obtain new citizenship and new passports, we are welcome in his kingdom and can travel unhindered. Once we belong to him, there are no borders between us!  We belong and have direct access to God. When was the last time God asked to see your passport? Are you free to travel life's road or are you hindered by border crossings?