Keep Cultivating Tender Affection - JONATHAN AND DAVID - "BOUND TOGETHER IN CLOSE FRIENDSHIP"

 

The Bible contains accounts of people of imperfect humans who showed tender affection.   Consider the example of Jonathan and David.  The Bible says: "Jonathan and David became bound together is close friendship, and Jonathan loved him as himself." ( 1 Samuel 18:1) David was anointed to succeed Saul as king.  After that, Saul became resentful of David and tried to kill him.  But Saul's son Jonathan did not join his father in this murderous campaign against David.  Jonathan promised to remain friends and always support each other. - 1 SAMUEL 20:42. 

The tender affection between Jonathan and David is all the more remarkable when we consider some factors that could have preventede them from becoming friends.  For example, Joathan was some 30 years older than David.  Jonathan could have concluded that he had nothing in common with this much younger man.  Yet, Jonathhan did not view or treat David as an inferior.

Jonathan could have been jealous of David.  As King Saul's son Jonathan could have insisted that he was the rightful heir to the throne.  (1 Samuel 220:31) But Jonathan was humble, and he was loyal to Jehovah. So he fully supported Jehovah's choice of David as future king.  He was also loyal to David, even when this incurred the wrath of Saul. - 1 Samuel 20:32-34. 

Jonathan had tender affection for David, so he did not view him as a rival.  Jonathan was a skilled archer and a courageous warrior.  He and his father, Saul, had a reputation for being "swifter than the eagles" and "mightier than the lions." (2 Samuel 1:22, 23)  Therefore, Jonathan could have boasted about his own heroic exploits.  However, Jonathan was not competitibe or resentful.  On the contrary, Jonathan admired David for his courage and reliance on Jehovah.  In fact, It was after David killed Goliath that Jonathan begant to love David as himself.  How can we show  such tender affection for our brothers and sisters?

Next time: Keep Cultivating Tender Affection - HOW CAN WE SHOW TENDER AFFECTION TODAY? 

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