Help! My teenager has a Non-Christian Friend

There's a story of a young boy named Tim who was a member of a well-known church. Not only was he a member, but he was very serious about his faith and was what we would call today a “Christian.” A “Christian.”  What does that mean? Well Tim was a great definition, not just someone that believed in Jesus Christ’s teaching but someone that actually took what he learned and put it into practice.

Tim was perfect in the eyes of his friends, his congregation, the Lord, and his parents thought so too. Tim’s parents loved him and the way he carried himself as a young Christian, Except for a friend he associated with named Noah. Noah was not a bad kid nor was he a bad influence on Tim, but there was one concern about Noah that Tim’s parents just couldn't seem to get over. Noah was not a Christian! How could this be? Tim being friends with a non-believer just was not right and it was something that his parents just couldn't seem to get over.  So they asked Tim to de-friend him. Tim replied “Mom and Dad give him a chance, I will invite him over for dinner and we can all talk about it.” Well Tim’s parents loved their son and they saw how much this upset him so they gave Noah a chance so they could hear him out and let him plead his case.

The night Noah walks in and sits down and Tim’s parents begin the interrogation process. They start “Why don't you believe?” “ Are your parents just like you?” “Why would a non-believer want to hang a with a believer?” Noah didn't get to answer any of these questions because Tim’s parents didn't give him a chance to but the final question was “What do you think Christ looks like?” and Noah replied back “Well if I could imagine Christ, I would think that he would like like my pal Tim here”

This story could teach could teach us all a lesson. The lesson is that we should not be upset or discouraged when we have a child that decides to be friends with a non-believer, but rather we should be excited because now that child of ours has the chance to show that friend a living example of Christ in the flesh.

2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” So this tells us that it is our job to be the recruiter for the kingdom of God on his behalf. So if our youth are only being around, hanging out with, or only witnessing to friends of theirs that are already believers, then what souls are being saved? That is sort of like an athletic recruiter from the University of Dayton recruiting players that already attend the university. Kind of odd, isn't it?

My child has a non-believer friend and my child has the power to change their friend's life! So as a parents or guardian, it is your job to encourage and not to discourage because your family may be the only Christ that this child may know.