I've always thought that being a Christian meant that we needed to
distance ourselves from non-Christians/non-believers in order to keep us
from walking in the wrong direction, while still trying to get those
same people to look to God, and show them the hope we have in Jesus.
However,
while reading through Sean McDowell's book, Apologetics for a New
Generation, I have learned that the opposite is actually true. Sean
states that the longer we are Christians, the less we socialize with
non-Christians, and over time, we distance ourselves from the very ones
we are sent to be salt and light to. When we do that, we lose valuable
opportunities to share our faith and beliefs with others.
If we,
as a body of believers, want to reach those that don't know God, we must
form close, personal relationships with them. Only through personal
contact of this kind can we hope to earn their friendship and trust,
thus allowing deeper and more meaningful dialogue to develop about our
faith and beliefs, and their faith and beliefs.
Trust builds friendships; friendships breed dialogues; dialogues beget questions; questions bear answers; answers bring hope.
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