1 Samuel 20 – Deep and Meaningful Friendships

Do you have close friendships? The fast paced and high pressured world in which we live often prevents us from having the time we need to develop deep and meaningful friendships.

David and Jonathan were close friends. You can see this in 1 Samuel chapter 20. In fact, in our day of gender diffusion, reading about two men who were so emotionally close and demonstrative can lead a reader to believe they had more than just a friendship. But there is no indication in Scripture that this was the case…especially since both men were dedicated to the law of God which forebode anything else.

Like David and Jonathan, we all deeply yearn for friendships that are consistently loving and unswervingly loyal. We look for close friendships with people who will commit to us…not because they have to, but because they want to.

God longs to have this kind of relationship with us. It’s why He came to us in the form of Jesus…so we could see this kind of relationship in tangible form.

But if this is what we want, why do we so often fail to experience it?

Jesus said…

“Give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38 ESV)

If you’re not receiving deep and meaningful relationships with God and with others, could it be that you’re not giving that kind of relationship? If so, what are you afraid of? Take some time and ponder these questions. It could renovate your relationships.

1 Samuel 14 – Biology, Sociology, or Spirituality?

Have you ever noticed how two people from the same family can be radically different from one another? Are those differences related to biology (nature) or sociology (nurture)? The answer is probably a combination of both.

But there’s a third factor which can over-ride biology and sociology, and that factor is spirituality.

Jonathan (Saul’s son) was influenced by his father, both biologically and sociologically. Yet, they were noticeably different spiritually.

1 Samuel chapter 14 highlights the differences between Saul and Jonathan. Saul tends to rely on himself more than God, while Jonathan tends to rely on God more than himself. (Compare verse 6 with verse 36.) Saul uses God for his own desires, while Jonathan wants to be used by God to accomplish God’s desires.

Reading 1 Samuel 14 should give us hope. Though we have no influence over our biology (the family we’re born into) and little influence over our sociology (the way our parents chose to raise us), we have a lot of influence over our spirituality. And since our spirituality can over-ride both our biology and our sociology, we have more influence over who we are than we tend to believe. That is the hope we have in Christ. The One who rose from the dead offers us resurrection from our dead ways!

1 Samuel chapter 14 also gives us a warning…don’t be like Saul! It’s so easy to live life on our own strength, trusting ourselves, figuring things out on our own, doing what our logic or emotions tell us to do. But resist that. Instead, live trusting God’s sovereignty, wisdom, and plan. Live more like Jonathan…unsure of yourself and what you can do, but confident in God and what He can do. (1 Samuel 14:6.)