I Samuel 20:42- Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.’”
Watching the news this past week, I saw a piece entitled: The Power of Friendship. For ten minutes the newscaster talked about the health benefits of having friends.
It all boiled down to new scientific evidence that if a person does not connect to others, they end up with too much belly fat and/or other health problems equivalent to smoking sixteen cigarettes a day!
Wow. Relationships are important.
The Bible gives us examples of beautiful friendships, but one of the most tender is that of the friendship between David and Jonathan. Each would readily have given up their life for the other.
Abraham was called God’s friend.
Jesus wept when his friend, Lazarus, died.
Although the value of friends here on earth is important for many reasons (even our physical health, it seems) God tells us that our spiritual health is dependent on being connected to Him.
The story of the vine and the branches definitely depicts this necessary connection.
More important than our relationship with our earthly friends, is our relationship with God. We don’t want to end up like a branch that withers and dies when it is no longer connected to the vine!
So, be a true friend to others. Care for their spiritual health by encouraging their relationship with Jesus—“a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”
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