Charting the course of friendship.
Saul, as King, had lost the plot. He had lost his way with God, and David had been secretly anointed King by the prophet Samuel. Saul wanted his son Jonathan to be the next King, but David was God’s choice. There could so easily have been bitterness, hostility and acute tension between David and Jonathan. Yet they became the best of friends.
We follow the course of this friendship in our readings and the Growth Groups this week to learn what true friendship is about.
v 14 The Lord is a friend to those who fear him.
He teaches them his covenant.
Jesus said “This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. (John 15)
Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith. He was even called the friend of God. (James 2)
It seems almost too mundane, or ordinary, to think of God in terms of being a friend! After all, He is GOD, Lord of the Universe, Holy and Majestic, Powerful Creator, glorious beyond all imagination – so it seems too ‘matey’, too familiar, to think of Him as Friend. Yet perhaps the word ‘friend’ has become debased, defined by nothing more than a ticked box on Facebook.
So let’s try to build a better picture than that this coming week. Start with the model of friendship as our relationship with God. What do you see in your relationship with him that might help you to build better quality friendships with those around you? If friendship is an important feature of life that encourages and builds us, reflect on how good a friend you might be to others.
It would be a tragedy to go through life with masses of acquaintances and yet no real friends. This week might demand action from us!