Scripture Passage:  “And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul,  that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.  And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father’s house.  Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.  And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.”  I Samuel 18: 1-4 Dear Friends,

 

     A phone call I made today reminded me of the refreshing honesty that comes with friendship.  I called an old friend that is recovering from major surgery to check on him and set up a time to visit.  With candid honesty, he asked me not to come that day.  There were no in depth explanations just that he did not feel like having company.  There were two ways that I could have taken his answer.  I could have seen it as a rejection of my friendship or the value of it.  I chose the latter.  You see, he valued my friendship enough that he could be totally honest without worrying about hurting my feelings.  True friends have a kindred spirit.  They can be together without saying a word or be separated for a period of time without losing the quality of the friendship.  One does not depend on the other for fulfillment but rather they complement each other.  When they are together one does not have to entertain the other.  I heard a good definition for a friend the other day that said a friend is someone who knows all about you and likes you anyway.  The number of friends that meet the criteria I have just shared are few and far between.

 

     David and Jonathan shared a unique friendship.  Jonathan would have been heir to the throne because he was the son of Saul, but he had no inhibitions on submitting to God and David as his king.  He was willing to put himself in harm’s way to protect David and was even willing to defy Saul in order to keep his promise to his friend.  They thought more of each other than they did of themselves so their friendship cemented a bond of trust and reliance.  I do not think David ever did anything to take advantage of Jonathan either.  David would rather flee than cause trouble and put his friend in harm’s way or at odds with his dad.  David and Jonathan’s friendship was more of a long distance relationship rather than an everyday continuous one. When they were able to see each other they enjoyed each other’s company and made the most of the precious little time they got to share.  They each kept their promise and remained loyal to each other to the very end.  David even cared for Jonathan’s crippled son Mephiboseth, until he died.

 

     As I was traveling recently I spend a lot of time listening to the radio.  One talk show host was reading a survey comparing   “facebook” friends to “real life” friends.  The facebook friends can easily reach one hundred or more, but real life friends averaged five or less.  These real life friends can be called upon anytime day or night.  Tell those real life friends how much they mean to you and be the kind of friend a friend would like to have.

 

In Christ,

Pastor Johnny