I grew up in churches. My father was in the military, a servant of the United States Empire, which required my family to move pretty frequently. Wherever we ended up, my Mom made sure to find a local church for us to attend on Sundays. 

Most of the time, these churches were Baptist or Southern Baptist—all of the time, these churches subtly mixed worship of the American Empire into their services. The church where I accepted Jesus as my savior had a roof painted like a giant American flag. Cringey, right? 

During my childhood and young adult years, I was taught in church that the Empire was good. The Empire's actions were valid and righteous. We must protect the Empire and confront and defeat her enemies.I believed these ideas to be true. I also believed the Empire's borders were under attack, with evil people constantly wanting to infiltrate and compromise the Empire's sovereignty. Secure borders keep us safe...or so I was told. 

As time progressed, I realized that many of the 'truths' I was taught when I was young were, in fact, propaganda. Chief among these are the myths surrounding borders. For at least 30 years, the Empire has had an issue at its southern border. The south edge of the United States is a gateway to Mexico which connects the Empire to Central and South America. Centuries of meddling in these regions' cultures and economies have led to considerable disparities in prosperity between the Empire and the Central and South American countries. 

The meddling specifically by the United States Empire has allowed drug cartels to overrun many of the nations in Central and South America. These cartels are the de-facto government and rule their territories with iron fists. The more actions the US Empire has taken to curtail the cartels(via the failed war on drugs), the more solidified the cartels' power has become. Millions of people have fled the violence and poverty caused by U.S. meddling and the cartels’ rule. 

Where do these people flee to? The southern border of the U.S. Empire. A line on a map that divides 'us' from 'them.' Debates have raged for years as to why people come to the United States. Undoubtedly, the reasons are as varied as the countries they are leaving behind, but it is undeniable that most people are attempting to find peace and prosperity that is understood to be unattainable in their homelands. 

For the last three decades, the U.S. Empire has tried to prevent people from crossing its southern border 'illegally'. Billions of dollars have been spent to “secure the border” and prevent both people and goods from crossing it. Despite all of the efforts and money that is thrown at the situation, the border conditions have remained essentially unchanged. People remain desperate to reach a place where they have a chance at safety and prosperity. 

The response by Christians in the U.S. has primarily matched that of the government. The prevailing thought is anyone who would violate the United States' laws and not respect the Empire's borders are criminals. Criminals, you see, are not worthy of being part of the Empire. Criminals could never be good Romans. What does this have to do with Christians? Christians, sadly, care about the borders of the Empire almost as much as the Empire does, but the Bible and Jesus himself tell us that this should not be the case. 

Borders, for a Christian, should be irrelevant. For reference, first, let’s take a look at the parable of the Good Samaritan. In Luke Chapter 10, we see Jesus layout how Christians should treat people from other countries and cultures. Here's what the text says: 

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"

He answered, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"

The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."

Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

In Jesus' time, Jews hated Samaritans. The Jews saw themselves as the superior culture and race, while the Samaritans were considered unclean. While the relations between Jews and Samaritans aren't a 100% correlation to American Christians and immigrants’ relations, there are some parallels we can draw. 

We can see in Luke Chapter 10 Jesus breaks down the barrier between Jews and Samaritans. He is crossing the border that separates 'them' and 'us.' The man speaking to Jesus wants to wiggle off the hook, he wants to know who exactly these “neighbors” are he is supposed to love as himself. This is when Jesus hits him right in the feels. Your neighbors? Your neighbors are those folks you detest. The folks whom you have always been taught are lesser than you, not equal. 

Jesus plainly shows us who our neighbors are: everyone. Yes, even the people we don't like. Yes, even people from other cultures. Yes, even people from other countries. Yes, even people who 'illegally' cross imaginary lines on a map. 

In addition to showing us who our neighbors are, Jesus also guides us on how we should treat our neighbors. The Good Samaritan spends time, resources, and money to help a man he just met; you'll notice the Samaritan didn't ask the man what his reason for being on the road was, nor did he ask where he came from or if he had committed any violations of the law. The Samaritan saw a man in need and helped him. 

There are people in need at the southern border of the United States and many other places worldwide. When we, as Christians, use the border as an excuse to overlook people in need, we are no better than the men in the parable who didn't help, and we certainly aren't loving our neighbors. Rather, we are in defiance of the way Jesus instructed us to treat people. 

Governments use borders to establish their sovereignty and power. Borders tell us who we should care about and who isn't worthy of our time, resources, and money. But they are never mentioned by Jesus. The reality is, borders should be irrelevant to Christians. 

We have other examples of Jesus setting this precedent that borders are irrelevant. In Acts Chapter 1, Jesus ascends to heaven and gives his disciples instructions for the future: 

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Christians are to carry the story of Jesus everywhere. To the ends of the world. To all of humanity. There's no mention of crossing borders legally (or illegally) or even respecting the sovereignty of the nations we carry the Good News to. 

We aren't told to carry the Good News to the cultures and people who we like, the ones we deem worthy, but we are to take it to everyone. EVERYONE. 

Later in Acts, we see just how Jesus plans to empower the disciples to accomplish this task: 

"And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.

At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.

They were completely amazed. "How can this be?" they exclaimed. "These people are all from Galilee, and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!"

Through the Holy Spirit, God empowered His disciples to preach to people of nations. Their languages weren't a barrier, and no one asked the people in the crowd that day what their legal status was. The Gospel was preached and God was glorified. 

My fellow Bad Romans, I ask you today to look at borders in a new light. Borders are a means to an end for secular government. They serve a purpose for government, and that purpose isn't beneficial to people in need. Jesus did not need borders, He had no love or concern for their protection. So, in turn, we, the image-bearers of Christ, should not concern ourselves with the government-drawn lines on a map. 

Instead, we should love our neighbors. Help people in need. Take the love and Gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth, and to all people because they are all our neighbors. No more excuses. No more borders.