Forever Friends
How many forever friends do you have? I am not referring to good acquaintances. I am talking about good friends who are committed to you so that they would help you in any way they could. These are the kind of friends who would sacrifice their time, money, and energy to come to your aid. I have heard it said that we are very fortunate to have 5 of these friends in our life. Personally, I do not believe most people have formed that many close, committed friendships. However, I believe God loves to see us make those types of friendships, and we benefit from them in many ways. Jonathan, King Saul's son, and David had such a relationship. (I Samuel 20:42) In fact, theirs was generational covenant relationship in the name of the Lord.
Jonathan committed himself to be David's friend soon after David killed Goliath. He knew that David would be the next king, which would keep him from ascending to his father's throne, but he still made the firm decision to be David's forever friend. This friendship made Saul even more angry than he already was. It led him to try to kill his son in a rage, just as he had tried to kill David several times. However, that did not deter Jonathan, either. Friendship like that is a godly, holy thing. We should never seek to have friends for what they will do for us, but for what we can do for our friend. In the case of Jonathan and David this covenant even extended to their descendants in future generations. I pray that we will take this as an example of how to relate to our friends, too.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Samuel 21-23.
Jonathan committed himself to be David's friend soon after David killed Goliath. He knew that David would be the next king, which would keep him from ascending to his father's throne, but he still made the firm decision to be David's forever friend. This friendship made Saul even more angry than he already was. It led him to try to kill his son in a rage, just as he had tried to kill David several times. However, that did not deter Jonathan, either. Friendship like that is a godly, holy thing. We should never seek to have friends for what they will do for us, but for what we can do for our friend. In the case of Jonathan and David this covenant even extended to their descendants in future generations. I pray that we will take this as an example of how to relate to our friends, too.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Samuel 21-23.