True North and Borderless Puzzles

I saw something while shopping that could be a picture of our post-modern era: A borderless jigsaw puzzle. Seriously. The jagged edges and lack of a solid border spoke to me of a society that knows no boundaries or limits ... a society that wants to be unhindered by any God, that constantly rejects the borders of sin.

And yet there was another meaning - one filled with hope. For there is another "unhindered" to match every societal rejection of Christ. Acts 28:30-31 captures that hope:

Paul lived there two whole years in his own rented quarters and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with complete boldness and without restriction.

"Without restriction". In the Greek, the word literally means "unhindered". Paul was imprisoned under house arrest in Rome, yet the Gospel was going forth into a basically pagan culture "unhindered". In droves, people were turning from idolatry to serve the living Christ - no matter the cost.

The Gospel was unhindered by the tides of society, unhindered by Paul's imprisonment, and even unhindered by cultural restrictions. By the end of Acts we see the church united behind the idea that there is no "one form" that Christianity must follow. The Jewish Christians in Jerusalem with their temple prayers, and the Gentile Christians in Ephesus, with their rejection of idols of Artemis, were united as one under the Lordship of Christ. Unhindered by their cultures.

The fact is, we (at least we westerners) live in a society that rejects the need for absolute truth. We want to find our own way. We want life to be one big borderless puzzle. Yet no outdoorsman would pretend to know on his own where true north could be found. He knows that especially in a crisis, or when lost, he can get disoriented. An external marker of truth is needed - the compass shows true north.

When our postmodern world gets lost in the borderless puzzle that they call life, they'll need a compass to point to true north. God's revelation in His Word and His Son as revealed in that Word form the borders that give the puzzle of life a sense of unity, purpose, meaning. The borderless puzzle life will eventually dissatisfy. But we have the opportunity to point to true north - and then to guide believers into life on mission with God.

And then they too will know the true experience of "unhindered" life.