Definitions

 I read an article recently that quoted a sermon from Andy Stanley in which he essentially said that Jesus did not draw lines but inclusive circles and that it was his goal to do the same as a church.  Now about the specifics of the argument that he was making I will for the purposes of this blog remain silent.  However I want to point out something with regards to this type of thinking that is flat out wrong.  

The thinking goes, Jesus was all welcoming - he did not cause trouble and he welcomed everybody.  He did not draw lines, he drew circles.  The problem with this thinking is at least two-fold:

1. It begins with the subject and not objective truth.  It is as if Jesus is drawing large circles around an individual to include them in the kingdom of God.  "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me."  This is not a circle that begins with me and is large enough to include many.  It is a circle that has a center.  That center is the object by which the circle is defined.  A circle with no center is not a circle.  

2. It forgets that a circle has a radius.  Not only must the center be defined, but there is a distance at which the circle ends.  This radius starts from the center and radiates out so that each part of the circle is clearly defined.  You are in the circle or outside the circle based on the radius.  Therefore the objective center is not only critical, but the distance allowed between the center that defines the circle and being far enough outside the radius that you are no longer in the circle.  

So if we think in terms of circles, I think we are still ok - so long as we define our circles properly.  There is a certain freedom we have to be in different places, but if we have a different center or we are outside of what the radius is, we are no longer a part of the circle.  A circle, like many other illustrations, sounds good and all inclusive, but in order to be all inclusive we either have to make the radius so large that it is essentially meaningless or we have to abdicate the center.  I am willing to do neither.  Therefore I will gladly say that the offer of the gospel is for everyone.  But to belong to the circle of those who are children of God by the Bible is quite clear about both the center and the radius.