• Frenemies: They are the friends you have a love/hate relationship with, and you probably compete with each other.

• Outer Circle Acquaintances: These are the friends you casually say, “Hey” to but would probably never hang out just the two of you.

• Normal Friends: These are the friends you could chill with one on one or in a group. They know the basics about you, and you may have some inside jokes.

• Inner Circle Besties: These are the friends that know more about you, maybe even more than you realize. You’ve laughed, maybe cried, laughed until you cried, but mainly you share a special bond that they are a face that pops into your head when you think of your “close friends”.

• Faith Friends: These are the friends that know you and your faith. They are similar to inner circle friends, except you can relate to them on a spiritual level. These relationships are left kinda open from encouragers to mentors, but the best ones come in the form of “Inner Circle Besties” who also act as your “Faith Friends”

You know those friends who you can go 5 months without seeing, but when you do, it’s like no time was missed? These are my favorite friends. There’s no competition, they enjoy hearing about your successes, and somehow always know what to say after a rough patch. These friends don’t just say, “Well, there’s more fish in the sea…” or “But they’re in a better place…” or even “There’s a bigger plan…” And if they do ever say these things, they back it up.  The difference is that they are saying these things to help you, not themselves. They don’t deliver these words as an empty promise, but they restore your lost hope with a promise of something different and probably better.

Growing up in a Christian school and attending a Christian college, I was always surrounded by people who you would assume could be “Faith Friends.” That wasn’t always the case, though. I learned that in order to find these little gems, I had to practice being a “Faith Friend” to those friendships that I truly valued. This meant doing more than simply saying I would pray for them; it meant actually sitting down and praying with them. It can be a bit awkward at first, but seriously friends who pray together, stay together.

What could a friend like this do for you? My “Faith Friends” make me better by challenging me to live a life that isn’t for myself, and they do this by leading a good example and keeping me accountable. My challenge to you is to evaluate your friendships. Do you have any “Faith Friends?” Are you being a “Faith Friend?”

“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”

Proverbs 27:2