Can you imagine what it would be like to live in a sterile environment without physical human contact? No doubt you've heard the phrase, "living in a bubble," or something similar. It was coined a few decades ago, based on the movie of a boy with an underdeveloped immune system who had to live in a bubble-like environment.
This made-for-TV movie came out in 1976 (The Boy in the Plastic Bubble), combining the life stories of two boys with rare diseases. Of course, the movie dramatized the story (added some fiction) and a romantic theme far from reality. But the concept of living in a bubble, like an incubator, caught hold in a cultural expression.
In real life, these boys were unable to venture out of their bubble-like environments without fatal consequences. And yet, their great desire was to live outside the bubble.
Living in a bubble
It wasn't long before people applied the phrase living in a bubble to other situations and people. For example, the office of the U.S. presidency is bubble-like, with the 24/7 Secret Service guard, and screening of people whom the president will come in contact.
Today it could apply to people focused on their cell phones, gaming, and social media in a virtual bubble. The phrase came to describe anyone isolated from the world around them.
[bctt tweet="Living in a bubble can describe anyone isolated from the world around them"]
Sadly, this describes many Christian believers. Many Christians live in an insulated Christian world surrounded by other Christians, and locked into Christian-oriented media and music. And, many Christians like it this way and don't want to leave this protective bubble—their faith bubble.
Even more sadly, the world around them is untouched by their Christian beliefs and values. Why? Intentionally or not, we've constructed an ivory tower of faith.
Not as Jesus intended
This is not what Jesus had in mind when He spoke of the Kingdom of God on earth. Not at all. This bubble-like isolation isn't reflected in Jesus' teaching about the kingdom. Jesus had an entirely different way of life intended for His followers, which is seen in several parables and other teachings.
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus sent out twelve disciples to "preach the kingdom and to heal the sick" (Luke 9:1-6). Later, in the last year of the Lord's ministry on earth, Jesus sent out seventy others in the same way (Luke 10:1-12.
His final instructions to those who would lead the church after His departure extended this same message—
But the Holy Spirit will come on you and give you power. You will be my witnesses. You will tell people everywhere about me—in Jerusalem, in the rest of Judea, in Samaria, and in every part of the world. (Acts 1:8 ERV)
This is also echoed in all four of the gospels and termed the Great Commission (see What Do You Not Understand About "Go"?). It is clear, Jesus intended for His followers to be empowered to go out with His message to the world around them.
Getting out of the Christian bubble
For the "Boy in the Bubble," leaving the bubble put him at risk for his life. But it's different for us followers of Christ. Our spiritual life is at risk if we don't get outside the bubble. We need to engage people who have different values and beliefs than our own. Here's a blog post by Pastor Cary Nieuwhof that addresses this— The Evangelism Conversation No One Is Having.
Over the past several weeks, I've posted articles related to this week's topic—sharing our faith without being aggressive or overbearing. But, we have to be willing to get out of the Christian bubble to engage people who don't share our faith.
Here are the links to those articles—
- How to Be an Evangelist—Without Really Trying
- What's Your Story Morning Glory?
- Getting Personal
- Ready to Engage
One simple question— Are you willing to get out of your own faith-bubble to engage people about faith?