I desperately want to fight this battle for him, take his opponents head on. They are truly blinded and don't know what they are missing out on. However, this is his fight. His battle. His decision.
So how does one help a friend in a predicament such as this? You support them no matter what. You love on them, encourage them, definitely pray for them. You let them know that whatever they decide, whatever happens, you will always love and support them.
As I write this, I find this actually applies to a couple of friends of mine at the moment. I want all my friends and family to know that my love for them is no more conditional than Jesus' love for them. I'm there for them through the good times and bad, through good decisions and bad ones, through successes and screwups. If Jesus loves us through thick and thin, we should do the same.
If there's one thing lacking in today's world (actually there are many), it's encouragement, support, and unconditional love. That's how we model Christ to the world. We love even those who deny us three times. We love those who are so disfigured physically that they are shunned by society, and yet we are compelled to give them a loving touch. We draw out the gold in others. We love those who are cheats and frauds. Those who stink and smell. In every person we encounter we come face to face with the handiwork of the Creator.
Yes, we should love each other so radically that the world would be blown away. We should love when there's nothing in it for us.
My how this post has changed gears. I suppose the love of the Father is on my heart tonight. My heart breaks for my friends. And I feel compelled to love them like never before. It's in the hardships that we need this most, the love of friends. Whether those hardships are our own creation or that of another doesn't matter. Love is what matters.
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