Xmen

[Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) has prevented his friend Erik Lensherr (Ian McKellan) from murdering people different than himself, non mutants.]

Now this is not the best clip from this series of movies to describe their relationship, but it does show something beautiful, friendship.  Erik is known as Magneto, and Charles as Professor X.  They became friends early on for different reasons depending on whether you follow the comics or the movies, but none the less they are friends.  Most people today would think how could you be friends with somebody and yet have them thrown in prison?  The answer can be found in a quote from Thomas Jefferson, "I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as a cause for withdrawing from a friend."

In our modern day and age we think that we cannot be friends with someone because they do not believe the same things as us.  There is great danger though in surrounding yourself only with like minded people.  It creates a bubble, and isolates us from the world, not to mention the muscle of our mind becomes atrophied.  Our mind is meant to be challenged, and stretched.  We can never gain that if we do not seek out opinions that are different from ours on a wide variety of views.  I will admit I have trouble doing this at times, but thankfully God always has a way of making sure that my ideas are challenged by the people I meet or the shows I watch, or videos I see.

Another connection with the last point is that it is good to be challenged by a friend, somebody you trust.  If you are pursuing truth, and I myself am pursuing truth, why does it matter if we are not in the same place yet?  You provide me with a sounding board, a way to check whether what I have discovered, figured out is truth or not.  This has to be the case if truth is outside myself, not bound to my decisions.  This is why Professor X could have Magneto thrown in jail and yet still be his friend.  Friendship is borne from a love for the other, to will the good of the other.  Magneto had done something wrong, and he needed to face the consequences of his actions.