Caught Between Two Worlds

If Christianity is supposed to be something beautiful, something people want to reach for, then our lives should reflect it. But often, instead of being a light, believers are more eager to point out flaws or cancel others for thinking differently. Somewhere along the way, we shifted from chasing Jesus to chasing judgment.

For much of my life, I’ve felt caught between two worlds. I genuinely love people for who they are and where they are. I believe God placed me in rooms with people who don’t look like me, think like me, or worship like me so that I could show His love - not push them away.

But here’s the tension: the same voices that raised me often live the opposite. They cling to judgment while preaching grace. They taught me songs about how Jesus met people where they were. They told stories of Him drawing people close through love. Yet, their actions reflected distance, disapproval, and exclusion.

I couldn’t reconcile it. How could the Jesus who stopped for the brokenhearted, who wept with the grieving, who ate with the outcasts, now be presented as a figure of scorn and rejection?

When I open Scripture, I don’t see a Savior standing at a distance, demanding people clean up before coming close. I see a Jesus who:

• The Samaritan Woman at the Well (John 4): He spoke to her with dignity when others ignored her. Instead of condemning her story, He offered her living water.

• Zacchaeus (Luke 19): A hated tax collector climbed a tree just to glimpse Him, and Jesus invited Himself to dinner at his house. Grace came before change.

• The Woman Caught in Adultery (John 8): When religious leaders dragged her into the street, ready to stone her, Jesus defended her, then gently pointed her toward a better way.

• The Leper (Mark 1): Considered untouchable by society, yet Jesus didn’t just heal him with words - He reached out and touched him.

Each story shows the same truth: people were drawn to Jesus because He loved first. His love wasn’t forced, it wasn’t conditional, and it wasn’t rooted in hate disguised as righteousness.

If we want people to believe Christianity is something worth chasing, then we must live lives that echo Jesus - not just preach about Him. That means more than quoting Scripture; it means living it out, even in how we respond to the systems and politics of our time.

Right now, our political climate doesn’t look much like Christ. Immigration debates rage, and instead of remembering that Jesus welcomed the stranger with open arms, many Christians stand on the side of exclusion. Yes, there should be rules and regulations for order. But when the very system designed to help people “come in properly” instead works against them, we must ask ourselves: are we aligned with Christ, or with power?

We shouldn’t be fighting against those who want better for their families, who long for the chance at freedom of religion, safety, and opportunity. We should be fighting for policies that protect, uplift, and benefit all people. Because a faith rooted in fear and walls is not the Gospel.

Imagine what would shift if we stopped trying to win arguments and started winning people through love. If our actions lined up with our words, if people saw in us the same Jesus they read about - the one who restores, redeems, and refuses to let anyone stay outside the circle of His grace.

If our politics reflected Him, too, we’d see less division and more dignity. Less fighting to keep people out, and more building a nation where love, justice, and opportunity are possible for all.

Because here’s the truth: when we are divided, the enemy wins. Scripture reminds us…we wrestle not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12). The battle has never been about Democrats or Republicans, Americans or immigrants, us or them. The real battle is spiritual. And if we’re busy fighting each other, we’ve already lost sight of the One who has already won.

Come In by Todd Galbreath

Christianity was never meant to be about canceling people, excluding people, or building walls around people. It was meant to be about drawing them near to the cross through love.