Not everyone among us can have a true friend in our lives, but something worth talking about even more is the fact that not everyone among us is being a true friend. Both of these things are equally difficult to find and do, but both of these things are just as worthy to desire as each other.
Friends – Everyone needs friends as we walk our journey as people in this life. A friend, a true friend, an authentic friend, an intimate friend, a best friend, a BFF – Best Friends Forever…
We will certainly be different once we have at least one friend like that in our lives, and the lives of some of the people around us will also be very different if we can be a friend like that for them. As we talk about our great respected, valued, and authentic friends, students of God’s Word can’t not talk about Jonathan – Someone who, when he passed away, his best friend – King David, wrote in his song that, “I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; very pleasant have you been to me; your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women.” (2 Samuel 1:26). What was Jonathan to David that caused him to let out these beautiful, elegant words that were both passionate yet tormented, frenetic yet warm?
Jonathan’s life is neatly packaged into just a couple Bible passages that revolve around a number of basic relationships of someone who used to live on this earth. And it’s amazing; no matter what role Jonathan played, he always left behind a good memory. We probably don’t often notice that when David was being cheered on by the people and becoming famous as a soldier, Jonathan was already a great soldier, courageous and full of faith, which we can see in 1 Samuel 14. And then in 1 Samuel 18, Jonathan stepped into a covenant of friendship with David. In that moment, the action of Jonathan taking off the coat he was wearing and giving it to Daivd along with his armor, sword, bow, and belt – all given to this small shepherd, David – demonstrated the majesty and aura of being friends with someone he valued and loved. Then in 1 Samuel 20 is the story of someone who had to chose between love and honor, between right and wrong; In a complicated and difficult plight, Jonathan still fulfilled both roads: protect his friend and stand by him, but also to protect his father from doing wrong and standing by what was right. Finally, after the battle where Jonathan obeyed the order to stand side by side with his father, the king, until this hero fell down in 1 Samuel 31, 2 Samuel 1 records the song of David, where he mourned his great friend.
