I had been friends with my best-friend for over 5 years. Our friendship seemed to blossom over night and it wasn’t long before we spent almost every day together. We laughed together, cried together and shared our deepest secrets. From going to the club having drinks to staying home watching documentaries, we shared great memories. Yet, it was our lack of faith that is the most memorable.
When we first met, I was an atheist. She was an agnostic. The idea of God was a fantasy that we causally spoke about but trusted more in the stars and universe than a higher power. We believed everything happened for a reason yet, felt we were the masters of our own fate. Faith, Jesus and spirituality were never topics of discussion rather we focused on logic and things we could see.
Years later after I surrendered my life to God, our friendship took a turn for the worse. My passion for Christ and faith in God became a fire in my belly and I wanted to share it with the world, especially my best-friend. The only problem was, she did not want to hear it. In fact, she would consistently remind me of how much I changed and was not the same person I used to be. She was right! God changed my life from the inside out. God renewed my mind and restored my heart which I believed was for the better but she did not. My faith created a gap in our friendship and we no longer shared the same things in common.
Looking back on this friendship, I am able to see how far I have come. I desperately wanted to share my faith and knowledge of the word of God with my best-friend, but it was not the right time. Faith can not be forced, it is all in God’s time.
When we grow in faith and get closer to God, He tends to remove people from our lives. Whether it is through a breakup, distance or miscommunication, these barriers are created with purpose. It took me months before I realized, my best-friend was no longer a friend. She was a stranger. She didn’t know who I was anymore, the girl she would take shots at the club with was now attending bible studies and preaching the word. Her loud mouth friend now spoke with love and humility, what seemed like foreign language to her ears. Although, we no longer knew each other, my love for her never faded and it never will.
As believers, we should never give up on those who are not saved. Our jobs are not to judge or try to change others, we are simply here to love one another and live Christ-like. Humans do not have the power to change other humans, only God has the power to create change. God works in the hearts and minds of His creations, something mankind will never master.
It was difficult to lose her as a best-friend but that does not mean I stopped praying for her. We may not speak everyday but that does not mean I gave up hope that she will someday know Jesus. As it is written: ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God’ [Romans 14:11].
Pray for your enemies as much as you pray for your friends<3