The world is a very different place than I remember.

The more news I see, Twitter I scroll through, and Facebook rants I read, one thing stands out remarkably clear: we are divided.

Sure, my perspective is that of an American (a white, Christian, conservative male from the Midwest at that), but if you zoom things out even slightly you can see that this division permeates the whole world.

Political regimes bicker and argue on television as networks pawn it off as entertainment to ignorant masses, and cultures are shifting further and further into a state of chaotic anarchy rooted in the acceptance of nothing but everything. Tolerance and choice reign supreme, unless you don’t agree. Violence and hatred are at an all-time high, and it’s no one’s fault but everyone else.

It’s fiercely overwhelming to try to exist in a positive way without burying your head in the sand. For me, it’s a constant struggle to retain a proper outlook on the world in the midst of everything I see.

As a Christian, I know it’s my duty to do everything I can to live like our Example, especially in times like this. When I read through the Gospels and see the way he conducted himself and handled situations, it’s clear what he did: Jesus loved people. That was everything he did. Yet something so simple can seem so complex when we try to apply it today. We’re given such bad definitions of love. Love isn’t ignoring wrong so no one has to feel uncomfortable, and it’s not being brash and prideful in an effort to shame others into conformity either. To love like Jesus did we have to see people the way Jesus did, and to see people the way Jesus did, we have to think like Jesus thought. Paul told us in Philippians (2:1–5) that we need to have the same mind of Christ, the same love that Christ had, in order to be a light in this world. Jesus wasn’t out to make people feel comfortable, and he wasn’t out to bring conformity by force.

Jesus went straight for the heart.

He started and finished with a person’s heart — always. Sometimes he got there by meeting a physical need (John 9:1–11). Sometimes he got there with a sharp exhortation (Matthew 16:22–28). Sometimes all it took was a clear, simple statement of truth (John 3). But he always knew their heart first, and he could do that — he was God.

We don’t have that advantage, so what we have to do is begin building relationships and beg God to give us wisdom in dealing with them. Paul talks a lot about this in 1 Corinthians (9:19–22). He says to the church at Corinth that in order to effectively show people the love of Christ, we have to know those people. We can’t just scream at them from the top of our church steps. We also can’t become afraid to love them with truth out of fear of losing a friendship. True love, the love of Christ, will tell someone they’re about to fall off a cliff and also reach down to grab someone’s hand who already has. The key to sharing the love of Christ with people is to first love them ourselves — and we can only do that if we have the mind of Christ. Everyone has heard the phrase, “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”

The world has to know what we stand for, not just what we stand against. What we stand for will save their lives. What we stand against is already destroying them. We need to know our communities, know our cultures, engage them, serve them — and when they ask us why, we tell them, “Because Someone loved us, and He loves you too.” Jesus Christ is why. He is the answer to everything.

We must intentionally love people, not just react to their sin. We have to get to know them, not just scream from a distance. We have to hold fast to the Truth, not just say what is easy. As it turns out, love isn’t one-dimensional. It will take effort and discernment on our parts to truly meet the needs of people. We can’t meet their needs until we know what those needs are. We can’t reach a world we never touch.

We have to leave our comfort zones, leave our bubble, get up from our pews, and go find people, get to know those people, and love them like Christ does.

After all, he told us why he was here: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” — Luke 19:10