The Bond of Friendship

I just came from a 5-day retreat/planning with fulltime workers of Kids for Christ. We woke up at 5am everyday, and had our prayer and worship at 5:30am. After which, us boys went to play basketball just before breakfast. It was a time to bond with co-servants and a time to bond with the Lord. Reflecting on that experience these are what I realized about bonding:

B - believe in others
O - open one's self
N - nurture friendship
D - develop regular communication

Believing in others creates an atmosphere of trust and confidence. This brings out the greatness in people and the greatness in our friendships.

Opening one's self leads others to also open up. By disclosing ourselves, we are putting a stake on our friendships and making each other accountable for parts of our lives.

We nurture friendship by extending help to them, adding value to each other's lives. We 'feed' the friendship by encouraging words and guiding our friendships towards the way of God.

We develop regular communication to be able to sustain and enrich the bond. Whether it is through meeting up, through the internet, or greeting cards, what is vital is we get updated with their lives.

More importantly, it is love that bonds us. Put love in believing, opening up, nurturing, and developing communication, and surely we can create a bond that is enduring and lifelong.

And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. Colossians 3:14