Do You Have A
Soul-Friend?
Good Morning Friends,
All of us want to be accepted by others…even God wants love. That is how friendships are formed. So we get together in groups that agree to accept us in their life as we accept them into ours. We become teams, choirs, families, businesses, friends, organizations and churches. And if truly blessed we experience one of life’s great mysteries…how the words and actions of friends shared can create vibrations in the channel of our being… vibrations that last forever… Do You Have A
Soul-Friend?
Scripture: 18When David* had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house. 3Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. 4Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that he was wearing, and gave it to David, and his armour, and even his sword and his bow and his belt.
1 Samuel 18:1-4 (NRSV)
19Saul spoke to his son Jonathan and to all his servants about killing David. But Saul’s son Jonathan took great delight in David. 2Jonathan told David, ‘My father Saul is trying to kill you; therefore be on guard tomorrow morning; stay in a secret place and hide yourself. 3I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you; if I learn anything I will tell you.’ 4Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul, saying to him, ‘The king should not sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have been of good service to you; 5for he took his life in his hand when he attacked the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced; why then will you sin against an innocent person by killing David without cause?’ 6Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan; Saul swore, ‘As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.’ 7So Jonathan called David and related all these things to him. Jonathan then brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.
1 Samuel 19:1-7 (NRSV)
Jesus said, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:20 (NIV)
9Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. 11Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? 12And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NRSV)
17A friend loves at all times, and kinsfolk are born to share adversity.
Proverbs 17:17 (NRSV)
Message: We all need friends but few understand the basics of what it takes to form quality friendships that improve our health and connect us to God. Today’s scripture addresses this subject of friendship. In the one from Samuel we see that interwoven in Saul’s plotting to kill David is the story of the extraordinary relationship between David and Jonathan, Saul’s son. Here Jonathan, heir to the throne, becomes the reconciler and mediator and faces the difficult challenge of not deserting his father nor forsaking David. He sought to teach King Saul that often the best way to deal with our perceived enemies is to make them our friends. Here we see how Jesus turns us from enemies into friends of the Father. Here we are offered a covenantal friendship that is also a visible sign of invisible grace. Here we are offered a friendship that liberates us as it looks with the eye of love into our soul. It is here we find the reflection and echo of the divine. It is this vibration of our being that lives as music in the words we share and the images of the actions we take….touching Jesus when we reach out to the least, last and lost…Jesus touching as we read His Word and it speaks to us as a friend of our very soul. Scripture lets us know that to be a great friend we must love as Christ loves. In this relationship we receive correction, training and reproof. We sharpen each other. In this relationship our friends are people that we can trust to help us see our blind spots. Here we discover that God is the closest companion we can have and with God we can make great friends.
Pray that we help each other with our spiritual journeys. Pray that we take common friendships and make them holy. Pray that God give us good friends and makes us good friends for others. Pray that Christ’s friendship for us leads us to the salvation of the cross, it leads us to grace. Pray we be careful to choose our closest friends wisely. Pray we look not for perfect friends but for friends whose hearts are set to follow God. Pray we put others first. Pray we examine the kind of friend we are to others and strive to find godly friends who will challenge us to become the person God desires. Pray we are receptive to the way God uses our friends to help us become spiritually mature. Pray we strive to be the kind of friend that helps others become more like Christ. Pray we realize that friendship defines the motivation for God choosing the cross.
Pray that Jesus becomes our greatest love, our most useful companion. Pray that our communication with God be open and clear, that we honor His noble suffering and acknowledge the severe truth of our existence, accepting His hearty counsel to join in the greatest union of minds we are capable of experiencing.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 