Believers, non-Believers and relationships

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.