One of the tips in Shopping for Time that I find it helpful to return to frequently is comparing my list of friends with the kinds of friends the Bible tells us to have:
- Friends who sharpen
“We need to have at least one–and preferably many–friends who inspire us to serve, provoke us to love, help us grow in godliness, correct us, strength our faith, and spur us on to passion for the Savior.” - Friends who mentor
“We ought to aggressively seek out other women to help us grow in the admirable qualities of biblical femininity.” - Friends who need friends
“To choose our friends carefully means we must guard against selfishness and laziness … Reaching out can be as simple as introducing ourselves to a visitor at church or inviting a quiet woman out for coffee, or including someone new at our weekly lunch with friends.” - Friends who need salvation
“So if everyone on your list [of friends] has grown up in a Christian home or been a Christian for twenty years, you’re missing someone … we are supposed to be reaching out and having gracious, gospel-motivated conversations with non-Christians.”
When I think through these biblically based categories for friends I should have, I usually notice at least one type of friend that I don’t have in my life at the time. The best thing to do is to start praying for that type of friend and keep my eyes open for who God might be bringing along. These are the kinds of friends he wants me to have and he is happy to answer my prayers … though he might bring along someone unexpected!
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