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Since the Christian faith is a way of life, it is inescapable that it’s linked with a group of people. You live that way of life in the midst of others. If Christianity is a way of life for you, and I hope that it is, then that way of life is centered in Christ-shaped community. This “community” is Christ-shaped in that it first and foremost values what Christ values—grace, love, reconciliation, forgiveness, and the hope of something great in the here and now. As we press into this community, we find that people transform us.

Being transformed by people is unintentional and it’s intentional. It’s intentional, at least in church communities, through things like small groups, mentoring relationships, and Sunday schools.

It’s unintentional because, if you haven’t noticed, you become like those you spend time around the most. 

This is universally true. You may have had some degree of success resisting this, but at the end of the day your patterns of speech, topics of interest, style of dress, and overall disposition and attitude towards life deeply reflect who you spend the most time around.

Don’t spend all that much time around people, eh? Then it probably reflects either
a) those you most want to be like,
b) those you want most to like you or
c) those who you spend a lot of time watching on tv/movies/the internets.

Now this could become a chicken & egg argument, except that I think we’ve all found ourselves like this if we’re truly honest. 

When I’ve been watching way too much of one particular TV show, I tend to see examples from that show in real life and make jokes that references moments and jokes from that show. When I was working a Christian summer camp and in an intense discipleship environment for 10-12 weeks at a time, I had taken on a certain nature that was devoid at other times in my life. 

Most people want to speak about the intentional times—because those are much easier to control and manipulate. But if you are trying to live in the way of Jesus, I’d implore you to consider the unintentional.

Be intentional about the unintentional, if you will.

Because who you hang around matters. It shapes you deeply.

I don’t simply mean in a social sense—I hope socially you regularly surround yourself with all kinds of people from all walks of life. 

Questions:

• Who do you hang around that regularly pushes you to live more like Jesus in the everyday moments of life? They don’t have to do this by preaching at you or quoting Bible verses, but through character and the way they value people, time, money, etc. 
• If someone were to analyze and dissect your social patterns—who you hang out with, when you spend time with them, what you do together—what would they say the aim or goal of your social life is? Is your social life a reflection of your first love? (I’d say yes—so is that first love Jesus?)