Who Will Stand With You?

In the morning Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and with him a little boy. And he said to his boy, “Run and find the arrows that I shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. And when the boy came to the place of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?” And Jonathan called after the boy, “Hurry! Be quick! Do not stay!” So Jonathan's boy gathered up the arrows and came to his master. But the boy knew nothing. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter. And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go and carry them to the city.” And as soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most. Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.’” And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city. (1 Samuel 20:35-42 ESV). Jonathon and David’s friendship is legendary! It is the story of two men who would do all they could to protect one another from the insanity of Saul, Jonathon’s father and king. It is a great example for us as we consider our responsibility to our fiends. Friends are more than merely social acquaintances that share mutual interests. True friends help, care, sacrifice, and commit. They take upon themselves the hopes, hurts, joys, and pains of those they love. Jonathan’s friendship with David was like that: “He loved him as he loved his own life” (v. 17). Their friendship actually saved David’s life. Saul’s hatred was so deep within him that Jonathan was forced to put his own life at risk for David’s sake. Our friendships, unlike Jonathan’s friendship with David, may not force us to perform remarkable acts of courage. But each of us needs to be willing to make sacrifices for the sake of our friends. The Christian faith has always encouraged friendships of the David and Jonathan kind. Solomon advised, “Some friends play at friendship but a true friend sticks closer than one’s nearest kin” (Prov. 18:24). Paul loved Timothy and said of him, “How like a son with a father he has served with me in the work of the gospel” (cf. Philippians 2:22). And the earliest Christians “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship...“ (cf. Acts 2:42, emphasis added). The Christian life is not meant to be, and actually cannot be, lived alone. We need our friends. And our friends may need us, big-time. We need to develop the kind of relationships with others that they know we will stand with them and we know they will stand with us. What kind of friend are you to those God has given into your circle of influence? How have you both encouraged and helped them in their times of need and victory?