Friends are blessings to our lives. Depending on the friendship that we have with them, friends are able to motivate us to do better, help keep us in check over many things, and accompany us when we are in need of company and are lonely. Yes, friends are real blessings indeed.
One thing we have to realise about friends, though, is that not all friendships that we make are lasting. Worse, some of them aren't even genuine from the start. But when we have the right kind of friends, we're assured of greater mileage in our lives.
A Biblical Friendship
One such example of the right kind of friendship is the one between David and Jonathan. Their friendship has so many lessons to bring to us, and we should learn from them.
Here are some things we can learn from David and Jonathan's friendship.
1. Real Friends Are Committed To You
In 1 Samuel 18:1-3, we read Jonathan loving David "as his own soul."
"When he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, so that Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day and would not permit him to return home to his father's house. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant because he loved him as his own soul."
Jonathan appreciated David and loved him as his own soul. He made a covenant of their friendship simply because he loved him as his own soul. Such a friendship doesn't think about what they will receive in return. Rather, they think of what they can do for the other person and are committed to their well-being.
2. Real Friends Help You Pursue Your Call Even At Their Expense
"So Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, even his garments, his sword, his bow, and his belt." (1 Samuel 18:4)
Jonathan saw that David was a great man, and that he would be Israel's next king. Think about it: the king's son, not feeling any insecurity or threat at the fact that his friend will be the next king—the legal heir giving way to the young man without any relation to the royal family.
While Saul was angry at David, Jonathan wasn't. He was happy.
"He said to him, 'Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father will not find you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be next to you. Saul my father knows this.'" (1 Samuel 23:17)
Do You Have Such A Friendship?
Friends, Jonathan was a great friend to David, someone whose love for his friend "was more remarkable than the love of women" or romantic love (see 2 Samuel 1:26). Their friendship was built on sincere and genuine love for a brother—a friendship meant to build one another up.
