discipleship: day 26-28

to my best friend,
hello. i have known you my whole life.
we have grown up together, played together,
laughed together, even bathed together when
we were babies. and now, we're both nearly
adults on our ways to college, the one time
in our lives when it will be possible not to
ever see each other again. i was born in a
Christian family and i always went to church.
you were born in an atheist home, but you were
partially raised by my mother in earlier years.
back then, all that mattered to me was the bond
that we shared and i never once thought that
our relationship would change. the naive little
boy that was myself thought to himself that life
would never change us. i might have even considered
you to be more of a brother to me than my actual
brother at one point in childhood. i would always
think of you as the first person that i would go to
if i wanted to hang out or have fun, because to me,
you were the one that could make me be so genuinely
free in my laughter the most out of all my friends.
but now, i can no longer afford to just be that guy
who you think is nice or silly or who plays call of
duty terribly but plays anyways because he doesn't
care if people think he's a noob (yeah, that's me!).
because now i know the truth and for once in my life,
i actually thought that you were going to hell...
and that terrifies me more than you could possibly
imagine, because i love you so much. and God loves
you so much. i want you to realize that fact, that truth.
every word that i have said to you this past weekend
has had the same intent to show you just how much
i love you and has been for your good. you know me-
i would never do anything intentionally to harm you
or even hurt your feelings, although it was clear to me
that you were devastated by the things i've said.
i want you to know that i have so much respect for you,
because unlike most people, you actually think about
what is important to you. you can choose to hate me,
but please, do not reject God! before you decide whether
or not Christianity is wrong, read the Bible and see
for yourself that there is an absolute truth in this
life. i will keep praying for you, that you would believe-
not because i simply want another Christian friend, but
because i want you to experience God as i have and
receive the joy and love that He has to offer.