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Being a Christian can be challenging. Being “in the world, not of it” means we often spend our time with other Christians: people who look, act, talk, and believe like we do. While we all need encouragement in our faith, we also need to be challenged to look outside of our own experiences and hear the stories of others that may differ from ours. If we are only in groups of people who are like us, how can we hear those other viewpoints? Jesus was the master of surprise, continually astonishing people by His choices of association. For example, He talked to a Samaritan woman, something other Jews would never do! It’s clear that He orchestrated the encounter with the Samaritan woman not only to reveal Himself as the Messiah to an entire village, but also to give His disciples a preview of their worldwide mission following His resurrection. What did the disciples see when Jesus told them to “open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest”? - despised Samaria. It was Samaritans who proclaimed Jesus “the Savior of the world.” Being like Jesus means we should have friends and colleagues from all walks of life. Our mission is go to all the world, learning about God’s people and spreading Christ’s love. Imagine how the world will be surprised and changed when we reach out to love people different from ourselves and give them the Good News.              This is Luis Palau.