Choose Friends
"I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan"
David and Jonathan often serve as the biblical prototype of friendship, and for good reason. They embody the concept of Choose Friends. While it’s pretty obvious what David got out of this friendship, have you ever wondered what Jonathan got out of being friends with David?
David took the throne Jonathan’s father had promised him. Jonathan’s loyalty to David fractured his relationship with Saul. Then Jonathan is killed in battle by the foreign army David had left Israel to serve. Frankly there was nothing strategic about Jonathan’s relationship with David. What makes their friendship so beautiful is that it was based purely on love.
So how do friendships like this start? Karl sums it up perfectly at the end of chapter 7.
“Pray for wisdom to find a Jonathan or two in your life. But be the friend you want. Don’t surrender to the lesser; seek God to bring you the friend or friends you need. Be intentional. And agree with God to become the very friend you need. The only thing greater than choosing friends is being a friend someone wants to choose. Be the kind of friend you want to have.”
David lives this out beautifully after he secures his throne in Israel. He asks his servants “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake? (2 Samuel 9:1)”
Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth was still alive but living in hiding since regime changes don’t typically go well for deposed princes. But David did not treat him as Mephibosheth expected.
David told him “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always. (2 Samuel 9:7)”
Jonathan showed David love, and to honor that love David showed love to Jonathan’s loved ones. Love and honor, this is how we choose friends. Is there a friend you can honor this week with your love?
Shawn