A letter to a friend...

Hey people,I want an opinion. I had a friend years ago in primary school who i used to see all the time, then as soon as we hit secondary school i began to not treat him very nice because i used to think he was weird. (He was a bit weird, but still nice). I regret ever treating him this way. This is before my conversion. I wrote this a while back but i want to know what you guys think of it, and whether it is worth sending to him.CheersMichaelDear xxxxxxxxx,(Letter removed -- in the process of being re-written)Kind Regards,Michael

Even if we aren’t friends now, I do care what happens to you and I am sorry when I haven’t treated you nicely sometimes in the pastMichael,In my view this is where the relationship left off...perhaps this is where you should pick it back up in your letter. Demonstrating your repentance towards him, could help him see a heart changed by the Gospel you are about to present.Bless you brother! MC

I think he may be sore at the way i began to shove him aside when i last spoke to him -- I don't think we could be friends like we were since i haven't heard from his family for about a year, (my brother used to be friends with his brother).. However i don't want to see him go to hell or any of his family.How would i illustrate repentance and pick up where i left.Michael

Sometimes true repentance , as with genuine love , takes time and effort(that's the cost of the cross). You need to show the fruits of repentance before you present the gospel of Christ. Build a friendship first, if God's in it He'll make away and Christ wil be glorified. :-)

I like what Dohzman said. In paying a cost, you are recognizing value in your friend.How would i illustrate repentance and pick up where i left.Simply by giving him at least an opportunity to hear your heart towards him before presenting your message. For instance, I can sense your warmth for him even in this brief exchange...I don't think you need to lead him on with a ruse and subterfuge though. If your motive is to share the gospel...then respect him enough to first humble yourself for wrongdoing and then state the point of your contacting him.It may be that any objections he voices towards you or your message will be the beginning of a dialogue that leads to a real friendship!Of course, these are just my opinions without really knowing this fellow.Blessings,MC

Simply by giving him at least an opportunity to hear your heart towards him before presenting your message.This is my instinct too on reading your planned letter. In older forms of communication, semaphore and morse, the pattern was to 'send' two letters (from the alphabet) constantly until the other person acknowledged that contact had been made. When this had occured 'communication' can commence. If you upload lots of biblical data before you have made 'contact' it will not really 'communicate' anything at all. I think we are often guilty of this in our preaching and witnessing. When we have 'uploaded' we feel we have done our job but communication is not just transmitting it is transmitting/receiving.I would recommend you just concentrate on your apology in the first letter, and in the second letter (after his reply) tell him why you have begun to behave differently. I do think your resolution to write to him is absolutely the right thing to do.