True Friends (6)
Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee and between my seed and thy seed for ever. 1 Samuel 20:42
Read 1 Samuel 20:32-43
Friends for life. That would be the best way to characterize the unique relationship between David and Jonathan. Both young men loved the Lord. Both of them therefore had the prospect of eternal life. And that is how they also departed from one another. Jonathan and David did not know what the future would bring but one thing they knew: Their lives were in God’s hands. Separation often brings sorrow. That’s what we also read; they wept one with the other. This was genuine sorrow for they were upright, true friends. Maybe you too had an occasion that you had to take leave of a dear friend. Perhaps your best friend became seriously ill. You shared his sorrows, lent a listening ear and tried to bear his needs and pains with him. You also prayed regularly for his restoration. As time went on, the separation between you and your friend became greater because of his deteriorating health. How painful that was! How helpless you were! It was not supposed to turn out this way and yet it happened. You had to take leave of one another though your heart and soul was bound to each other.
Notice what David and Jonathan said as they spoke to one another for the last time: “Go in peace! The Lord be with you and with me.” The paths of David and Jonathan began to separate. But before their parting became definite, they wished each other God’s peace and blessing. Each one then went their own way. And yet they both had the same Guide, namely, the LORD. In their sorrow they experienced peace for the Lord was their Comforter. When we part from one another in this way we are actually saying: Until we meet again, above, with the Lord. That is true friendship, for time and eternity!
Thought: True friendship lasts and says: ‘Until we meet again’. Then it is no longer here below, but up Above!
Psalter 422:5 (based on Psalm 89) How blessed Lord, are they who know the joyful sound, Who, when they hear Thy voice, in happiness abound! With steadfast step they walk, their countenances beaming, With brightness of the light that from Thy face is streaming; Exalted by Thy might from depths of desolation, They praise forever Thy name, Thy justice and salvation.