A. A gift from God.

To love and to make a positive difference.

A. For many teenagers, graduating from high school is an exciting time.  They see this as a time for freedom of parental controls and to be their own person.  I can tell you from experience that I too felt somewhat the same way at that stage in my life.  It is often the little things that they want to be free of but that sense of being independent is attractive.  For some, once they get out into the world on their own it becomes a bit scary.  For others it is exhilarating.  They will make mistakes in their decision making but hopefully not too many.  Some will ignore the advice they have received over the years and they will make many mistakes.  Some will be more reflective of what values they have learned and the road will be less bumpy for them.

So, what can you do to help your brother follow the right path.  First of all, pray for him.  There are two natures to every living human being on this earth.  There is the physical nature and there is the spiritual nature.  The physical world is very distracting and can cause us to neglect the importance of our spiritual nature and needs.  The new car, the new Xbox, the new clothes, and so on becomes very distracting.  With the right values taught to us in our younger years we hopefully hold those values high and they lead us to better decisions.  As you have so aptly indicated, going to church is a very important element in continuing to grow spiritually.

In addition to praying for him you need to love him and communicate that love for him.  That love for him is obvious in your reaching out with this question.  Often the newly freed graduate seeks relationships and sometimes that journey is bumpy.  Keeping a strong loving relationship with your brother and continually telling him that you love him reminds him that the relationship with you is a very important one and you may be more influential as a result. 

Lastly, you invite him.  When the opportunity arises, you invite him to come to church with you and the family.  You don’t want to be preachy but rather simply invite.  It is surprising at times how people will respond positively to our invitations.  Don’t ever take offense if the invitation is rejected because it is never about you but more so about where he is at that moment.  Keep inviting in a loving way.  I have the feeling that you will be influential with his coming back to church and making right decisions.  God bless you.