Christians Are Called to Step Outside Their Circles

Whether you were raised in a Christian home or came to faith later in life, it’s easy to end up living in a “Christian bubble.” We go to church with people who think like us, read books by people who write like us, and fill our calendars with events that reflect our values. And while there’s nothing wrong with Christian community Scripture encourages it we risk losing something vital when our entire social world looks, thinks, and believes just like we do.

That’s not the life Jesus modeled

He didn’t stick to the safe and familiar. He didn’t hide from those outside the faith. He embraced them.

Yet somewhere along the line, many Christians have flipped the script. Instead of engaging the world with grace and love, we retreat from it. We’ve interpreted “being set apart” as “being cut off.” We’ve assumed that holiness means isolation, not incarnation. But Scripture tells a different story.

Jesus Wasn’t Afraid of the Margins

In Luke 7:34, Jesus is accused of being “a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!” This wasn’t a compliment. It was a scandal. Jesus was known for sharing meals and building friendships with people who didn’t fit religious expectations. He didn’t condone sin, but He didn’t avoid sinners either.

And He never once said, “Only befriend them to convert them.” That wasn’t His strategy it was His identity. He was love incarnate, and that love didn’t come with a sales pitch. It came with presence, patience, and compassion.

If Jesus the only truly holy person to ever walk the earth could move toward the broken, why do we so often pull away?

Redefining “The World”

Modern Christianity often misreads what the Bible means by “the world.” It’s easy to slap that label on everything from punk rock to secular entertainment. But Jesus didn’t rebuke the tattooed or the tax collectors He rebuked the self-righteous religious elite.

What if “the world” we’re warned against is more about the pride and spiritual arrogance that builds walls instead of bridges? The very people Jesus challenged were the ones who spent their lives trying to look like they had it all together.

True holiness isn’t about who you avoid. It’s about who you’re willing to love.

It’s About Living, Not Just Speaking

Too often, Christians fall into the mindset that friendship with non-believers is only valuable if it leads to conversion. But that’s not how Jesus operated. His love wasn’t transactional. He didn’t see people as projects He saw them as people.

When we reduce relationships to evangelistic strategies, we miss the point. We’re not called to “be their friend to convert them.” We’re called to be Jesus to them.

Jesus didn’t just tell people about the kingdom He lived it. And He calls us to do the same.

A Church Without Walls

Yes, we need Christian community. We need people who will pray with us, challenge us, and walk with us in faith. But we also need people who don’t believe like us. People who challenge our assumptions. People who ask hard questions. People who need to see Jesus not just preached, but practiced.

When our faith exists only inside church walls, it becomes a performance. When it lives outside those walls, it becomes a witness.

C. S. Lewis once wrote, “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.” Every person you meet regardless of belief is an image-bearer of God. That reality should change how we see, speak to, and serve the world around us.

Who Are You Known For Loving?

Imagine if your friendships were analyzed like a headline. Who would TMZ find you spending time with? Would they see only other churchgoers and Bible study friends? Or would they be surprised maybe even shocked by the people you’ve chosen to love and invest in?

Because that’s the reputation Jesus had.

He wasn’t known as “the perfect religious guy.” He was called friend of sinners. And that title wasn’t given by His followers it was given by His critics.

In today’s culture, it’s easier than ever to live in an echo chamber. To follow people who agree with us, listen to voices that affirm us, and withdraw from conversations that challenge us. But Jesus calls us to more.

He calls us out.

Out of comfort. Out of fear. Out of the bubble.

Not to lose our convictions, but to live them. Not to blend in, but to break through.

So who are you loving today? Who are you walking with, even if they don’t walk the same path? Who in your life would say, “I may not believe what they believe, but I know they love me well”?

In a world full of religion, be someone who is known by love.

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