Friendship

Friendship

Then David bowed to Jonathan with his face to the ground. Both of them were in tears as they embraced each other and said good-bye, especially David. At last Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have made a pact in the Lord’s name. We have entrusted each other and each other’s children into the Lord’s hands forever.”

1 Samuel 20:41-42

During the 2004 Summer Olympics held in Athens, we saw a striking gesture of friendship. Two fiercely competitive Americans were swimming in the same event. At the end of the race Michael Phelps, a swimmer who had already won four gold medals, triumphed over Ian Crocker, who had yet to win his own gold medal. Along with the victory, Phelps had earned a position in the men’s four-hundred-meter medley relay final, and would almost assuredly win yet another medal. To the world’s great astonishment, Phelps volunteered to give up his place to Crocker so that his teammate would have a chance to win at least one gold medal for himself. What an act of kindness and friendship!

Phelps’s unselfish gesture reminds us of a similar friendship in the Old Testament—that of David and Jonathan. Jonathan, the son of King Saul, was next in line for the throne by virtue of his family. Yet, having been given God’s word that David would be the next king, he did not rebel against God’s plan but rather embraced David as his dearest friend.

Jesus said, “The greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends. You are my friends if you obey me” (John 15:13-14). He spoke these words the night before his death, an event that supremely demonstrates true friendship and opens the door to a relationship with God himself through our obedience of faith. Jesus commends such active love to us. He challenges us to give away our lives to others, just as Jonathan was willing to give up the kingdom to David, the man God chose.

Lord,

Help me today to be a true friend to those around me, willing to give of myself for the benefit of others. In the name of Jesus, my true friend, amen.