Tuesday, June 26, 2018

When You Need a Friend

Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Saul now urged his servants and his son Jonathan to assassinate David.  But Jonathan, because of his strong affection for David, told him what his father was planning.  “Tomorrow morning,” he warned him, “you must find a hiding place out in the fields.  I’ll ask my father to go out there with me, and I’ll talk to him about you. Then I’ll tell you everything I can find out.”  The next morning Jonathan spoke with his father about David, saying many good things about him.  “The king must not sin against his servant David,” Jonathan said.  “He’s never done anything to harm you. He has always helped you in any way he could.  Have you forgotten about the time he risked his life to kill the Philistine giant and how the Lord brought a great victory to all Israel as a result?  You were certainly happy about it then.  Why should you murder an innocent man like David?  There is no reason for it at all!”  So Saul listened to Jonathan and vowed, “As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be killed.”  Afterward Jonathan called David and told him what had happened.  Then he brought David to Saul, and David served in the court as before.  1 Samuel 19:1-7(NLT)
The proof of Jonathan’s friendship with David is found primarily in the fact that he had everything to lose by helping David, and virtually nothing to gain.  Jonathan was the king’s son, and therefore heir-apparent to the throne of Israel.  It was a dangerous game to play, helping David, when the king wanted him dead.  But Jonathan not only loved his friend David, he was bound by integrity to do the right thing.  Many years later David’s son, Solomon (perhaps remembering his father’s friend, Jonathan) would write:
A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need. 
Proverbs 17:17(NLT)
“Always loyal” is the key to friendship.  Now, that doesn’t mean always patting you on the back or being ready to follow you down an ethically-questionable pathway.  Loyalty does always mean being truthful, and to be depended upon to stand with you in the hard times and rejoice with you in the triumphs of life. 
I believe if David had in mind a coup d'état to overthrow King Saul, this story would have had a very different ending; Jonathan might have let David sink!  David may have been Jonathan’s dearest friend, but Saul was his father and the king.  When loyalties collide, friendship must take second place to truth and doing the right thing. 
Solomon also wrote:  It is wrong to punish the godly for being good…. Proverbs 17:26(NLT)
For You Today
It’s an easy thing to imagine what you’d like a friend to be in your life…loyal, courageous, funny, helpful, strong, supportive.  All this and more roll quickly off our brain’s must have list for friends.  But we should also consider our friendship effort we give to others.  If you’ve got a Jonathan in your life, treasure the gift, and thank God.  And while you’re at it, ask God for the wisdom, generosity and faithfulness to BE a Jonathan to your friends.
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day. 

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[1] Title Image:  Courtesy of Pixabay.com

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