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A Letter of Honesty to my Friends of Different Beliefs than mine.

I want to be a Friend that Loves—I will not judge.

Gabriel Douglas

Nov 21, 2016

Trinity International University

A Letter of Honesty to my Friends of Different Beliefs than mine.

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I have been convicted to write a letter to my friends on social media who do not believe in God.

Before you close this page and never talk to me again, this is not a letter to bash those of you because you do not believe in God. This really is a letter to all of you from me to show you that I care about you as a friend and this is an effort for me to have a conversation if you are all open to it.

To the unbeliever,

Over my life on this earth, I have been inspired and instructed to share the good news with you. I talk and you listen, and you accept, and I get the points and glory for it.... I mean God get's the glory... but you know what I mean....right? To the unbeliever, I have falsely learned that you need me, the Christian.

When you have questions that I don't know the answer I accuse you of being ignorant or rude, when I really should say " I don't know, but I will look into that question for you." I am sorry for not representing my faith well, I know this will not suffice, but I am sorry.

I have believed in God for basically my whole life, and I am so passionate about what I believe in. However,r at the end of the day, I care that you are my friend. I care that you listen to me when I tell you I want to be a minister, and I care that you listen to what I believe. But instead of you doing the caring, it is time for me to start caring for you.

I want to care for you, hear your story, your passions, your beliefs what gives you life day to day. I want to care for you when you are sick. I want to care for you when you go through a break up. I want to care for you whenever you need me. I do not want to care for you just so that I can tell you about Jesus, no, I want to care for you because I care for you.

I want you to know that I am sorry for trying to force my faith on you. I am sorry that the Church did not treat you well, and that Christians did not treat you well. I am sorry that the only examples you have seen of the Church are hypocritical, and that you want nothing to do with the gospel. My friend, I am sorry for not loving you.

I want to fix this. So if you are willing to give me another chance, I would love one. I want to listen to you. I want to care for you. I want to love you because that is why we are all on this earth, to love one another. And if the topic of Jesus comes up, I will talk to you about it if you want to listen. I am not going to force my beliefs on you, but know that it is only by God's love that I am able to love you.

To you, the unbeliever, I want you to know, that at the end of the day I care, because you cared for me even in my pride and I thank you for that. Let me do the same for you.

Sincerely,

Gabriel

* I hope this is helpful. These are some thoughts I have had in the act of sharing the gospel with my friends who do not believe. At the end of the day we have to love people, not to get something, but to love them because that is literally in our DNA. Hope this blesses you all.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.

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A Letter of Honesty to my Friends of Different Beliefs than mine.

I want to be a Friend that Loves—I will not judge.

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The Best Lines from the Fab Four

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make

The sun is up, the sky is blue, it's beautiful and so are you

Love is old, love is new, love is all, love is you

There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be

Life is very short, and there's no time for fussing and fighting, my friend

He say, "I know you, you know me", One thing I can tell you is you got to be free

Oh please, say to me, You'll let me be your man. And please say to me, You'll let me hold your hand

It was twenty years ago today, Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play. They've been going in and out of style, but they're guaranteed to raise a smile

Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see

Can you hear me? When it rains and shine, it's just a state of mind

Little darling, it's been long cold lonely winter. Little darling, it feels like years since it' s been here. Here comes the sun, Here comes the sun, and I say it's alright

We danced through the night and we held each other tight, and before too long I fell in love with her. Now, I'll never dance with another when I saw her standing there

I love you, I love you, I love you, that's all I want to say

You say you want a revolution. Well you know, we all want to change the world

All the lonely people, where do they all come from. All the lonely people, where do they all belong

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends

Hey Jude, don't make it bad. Take a sad song and make it better

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away. Now it looks as though they're here to stay. Oh, I believe in yesterday

And when the brokenhearted people, living in the world agree, there will be an answer, let it be.

And anytime you feel the pain, Hey Jude, refrain. Don't carry the world upon your shoulders

I'll give you all I got to give if you say you'll love me too. I may not have a lot to give but what I got I'll give to you. I don't care too much for money. Money can't buy me love

All you need is love, love is all you need

Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

Blackbird singing in the dead of night, Take these broken wings and learn to fly. All your life, You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Though I know I'll never lose affection, for people and things that went before. I know I'll often stop and think about them. In my life, I love you more

Obviously the best superpower.

There have been many lessons learned.

1. The importance of traditions.

2. How to be thankful for family and friends.

3. How to give back.

4. What the word "community" really means.

5. That it isn't about the destination, but the journey.

6. The consequences of making bad choices.

7. To trust people, until you have a reason not to.

8. To be welcoming and accepting of everyone.

9. How to be my own, individual person.

10. How to work for what I want.

11. How to be great at giving directions.

12. How to be humble.

13. To be well-rounded.

14. How to be great at conflict resolution.

15. The beauty of getting outside and exploring.

16. To be prepared for anything.

17. That you don't always have to do it alone.

18. How to be creative.

19. To brush off gossip.

I have never been so thankful to know you.

Dealing with the inevitable realities of college life.

Don't freak out

Email the professor

Attend the first class

Keep attending class

Have a backup plan

Remember that everything works out at the end

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