Listen.
When your friends talk, listen.
It’s amazing what you can hear.
We sometimes labor under the “you gotta get ’em lost before you can get ’em saved” mentality. We think of “getting ’em lost” as this enormously tricky task. It’s not.
Listen.
You know what the real problem is, far more often than not? We listen a little, hear things we don’t want to hear, and stop listening. And yeah, if you’re unwilling to keep listening, caring for your friends is gonna be tricky.
Diamante just came out with a new album called American Dream not too long ago. I’m going to stop short of recommending it, but I will say this: if you listen, and listen well, you’re not just going to hear a bunch of things you don’t want to (although there is that). You’ll also hear the kinds of things that lost people say when they know they’re lost.
You’ll also hear the vacuous thrills of American Dream, the title cut, crash and burn into Obvious. As the angry refrain “Do you want me to leave you?” collapses into the plaintive “Do you want me?” — if that doesn’t break your heart, you’re made of stone. When she follows up with Unlovable…well, I ask you.
Listen. When you can hear what’s there, when you can hear it all and not move away, then you’re ready to care for your friends. And trust me, they need your help.
Full Contact Christianity 