God created us to be connected to one another.  Right from the Garden of Eden, God created the first two people and that shows us that God wants us connected.  We are at an age where people we call friends disappoint us and friendship can be so fickle.  As such I want us to look at real and authentic friendships in the Bible.

We as children of God have a covenant with Him because He sent His Son Jesus to die for us; because of Jesus we have a covenant with God.  What covenant does for us is, it has it’s foundation in Christ and enables us to have a relationship with Him.  The covenant we have with God cannot be broken because our Lord Jesus is the Mediator of a better covenant.  It is a covenant embedded and anchored in the Blood that Jesus, shed on the Cross of Calvary for us.  By faith through grace, we have been adopted as friends of God in Jesus Christ who loved us and came and gave his life for us.

One of the starting point of a robust friendship is an attentiveness and love for each other.  The friendships that we will look at in the Bible show this kind of fondness and strong bond.  A friendship that is not based on what I can get from you.  A friendship that is based on honesty and genuine love for your friend.  A friendship where you can both be vulnerable with each other, as David and Jonathan were:-

DAVID AND JONATHAN

1 Samuel 18: Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. ² Saul took him that day, and would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore. ³ Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. ⁴ And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armour, even to his sword and his bow and his belt.

When Jonathan  took off his rob and gave it to David with his armour, these two gestures said a lot without words being spoken.   It was as if he was saying I am ready to be vulnerable before you; I am not going to fight you and in fact, I am ready to give you what make me feel secure, i.e his amour.  Also, Jonathan being King Saul’s son and rightfully, he would be the next to the throne, when his father dies but it seemed he recognised David would be the next king, in his gesture.

This was the beginning of a close-knit friendship.  As children of God, friendship is significant to us because what connects us is our faith.  It is  of the essence that we choose our friends wisely, that you look for someone who will be there when we are going through a hard time, a loyal and supportive person and one who can pray with you when in time of need and will always refer you to the Bible.  Proverb 12: 26 The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray.

1 Samuel 19: Now Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David; but Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted greatly in David. ² So Jonathan told David, saying, “My father Saul seeks to kill you. Therefore please be on your guard until morning, and stay in a secret place and hide. ³ And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father about you. Then what I observe, I will tell you.”   Jonathan was David’s closest friend and he informed David about his father Saul wanting to kill David.  Jonathan risked his life in protecting David.  He was able to tell David to hide, as he tried to find out what was in Saul’s heart, to kill David or not.

Jonathan knew that God had chosen David to rule Israel and he was still faithful to David.  1 Samuel 23: ¹⁶ Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God. ¹⁷ And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that.” ¹⁸ So the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house.   

Do you have a friend who strengthens you as a sister or brother in Christ?  We all need someone who can uphold us spiritually when we are going through a tough time or when we are down.  In the New Testament, Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:39  And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”  The bible tells us that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son – John 3:16

David was a shepherd; Jonathan was a prince. Jonathan had his own armour; David had a harp and a slingshot. Jonathan grew up in the palace and was trained in the art of war; David grew up in the “little town of Bethlehem” and was trained to tend sheep. Jonathan was the oldest son and in line to inherit the throne; David was the youngest of eight boys and anointed the next king in place of Jonathan.   Jonathan was of the tribe of Benjamin; David the tribe of Judah. Despite their differences, they were, arguably, the best friends the world has ever known.

Proverbs 17: 17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.  We need to be careful who we call friends; we need to choose friends who will strengthen us in the Lord too.  But most importantly, we also need to be the kind of friend who would help friends in need, as we help them find strength in God.  Love propels us to do better and if your friendship is secure in God, then you will have a true friend in each other.

The paperback version of my books, are available for purchase from Amazon and the e-books are available on www.toladehinde.com :

• Prayer Personified

• Godly Declarations