Everywhere you look, someone’s drawing a line.
The line identifies us. You’re either on my side, or the wrong side.
You see the lines everywhere. I scrolled through my Facebook feed yesterday and realized I skipped a lot of items because they were about drawing lines.
I’m tired of lines.
Drawing lines is beyond discussing ideas or expressing opinions. I appreciate new information and different perspectives. Problems arise when one creates a rule that condemns and demonizes those who disagree.
Line-drawing is especially popular among Christians. We draw lots of lines around theology, liturgy, worship, and lifestyle.
Almost all of our lines are human creations. They’re unnecessary false dichotomies intended to force personal preferences on others.
I hear the objections already. “Wait a minute, Rich. Don’t you believe in truth?”
Of course I believe in truth. I also know legal experts were always trying to trap Jesus and get Him to draw lines and list the rules. And He stubbornly refused.
He did respond once when lawyers brought a woman caught in adultery. He wrote in the dust, and suggested they proceed with their planned execution—with the caveat that the sinless man among them should cast the first stone.
Instead of drawing a line, He asked that, for once, they abide by the lines they’d drawn for others. We know how that turned out.
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Do I believe in truth?
Jesus said, “I am the Truth.”
He’s not a collection of ideas, a list of rules, or a bunch of lines. So I don’t believe any of that stuff.
He said, “Love.” That’s not a line, it’s a circle and an invitation to bring everyone inside.
So I’m looking for places where I draw lines. I’m doing my best to see and erase them.
I invite you to join me.
Please leave a comment here.
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Your point (I think) is that we have a line drawing problem in the world and in the Body of Christ. No argument there. For all my attempts to lose it, I’ve still got a firm grip on my straight edge. But Jesus drew some pretty clear lines in Scripture don’t you think? Our problem is that we draw so many that He hasn’t drawn and, like the Pharisees (as you pointed out), we regularly cross our own.
Exactly. Our fights are almost always about human created lines, because we tend to draw them for our own reasons. Also, Jesus’ lines were invitations. “My yoke is easy.”