There are certain people, I called them my friends

Who would you consider your 'friend'? It is important for us to recognise these special people in our lives because with these people, we
- have personal connectedness (give us strength to move on)
- have synergy to create something special (Multiplication effect)
- are challenged to do our best (make us better than ourselves)

Friendship doesn't need structure to hold it together... we need to treasure these "happy-few" who will always be there. =)

Let's begin the search... to identify our "Kairos" Friendships...

1. Who stretches your mind?
- This person probes our minds with different viewpoints and pushes us to grow in our thinking so that we suddenly become more insightful
- The person who benefits the most is me!

2. Who listens to and encourages our dreams?
- Dreams can easily run wild
- But our friends hold us back when the time is not right, although they encourage us to pursue our dream

3. Who will protect you?
- eg. Barnabas who stood up and assured the crowd to believe that Paul had changed and asked them to give him a 2nd chance [Acts 9:26-28]
- This person looks out for our best interests and when people say bad things about us, they will defend us

4. Who are those who share our tears?
- This person will go the extra mile to be there to share our disappointments, exhaustion etc.

5. Who rebukes you?
- We are all capable of making a god called "self"
- These people rebuke us in our best interest and identify our blindspots
- They see our blindspots
- But they are not self-righteous and neither do they judge us

6. Who among our happy few play with us?
- "play" that is good = learning experience
- Recreation is a time of re-creation where we can put aside all our work and burdens and just relax. =)

7. Someone that seeks after God with you
- This person will hold us to a higher standard of Christ-likeness
- We are likely to hear God speak and align to His truth
- Satan is very capable to make us think that certain things are good... but a Christian friend can screen with The Word of God, which has truth and wisdom. A Christian friend will listen to the Holy Spirit and point us to the right direction.

Consistency is seen in our true friends. OF COURSE THEY DON'T NEED TO MEET ALL 7 CRITERIA BEFORE WE CALL THEM OUR 'FRIENDS'... But eventually, allow them to do all seven for us even as we start to do all seven for them. =)

Our ultimate friends is Jesus Himself...
[John 15:12-17]
"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father, I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you to go and bear fruit - fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other."