My best friend and I went shopping for dresses. When I came out of the dressing room in my wedding dress, she had tears in her eyes. When I looked at the face of the girl who had been my very best friend for the better part of 30 years, I knew exactly what the friendship was like between David and Jonathan: sacred.
The Bible depicts David and Jonathan’s friendship of one of a shared faith, steadfast devotion, and amazing encouragement. They shared a faith in God, which served as the foundation of their friendship. They wanted each other to serve the Lord and were excited about the plans He had for one another. They were devoted to each other: they chose to honor their friendship over other relationships. Jonathan proved his devotion to David by helping him escape from the wrath of his father, Saul. They encouraged each other. Jonathan encouraged David and vowed to be “in the shadows”, helping however he could, but allowing his friend to have command.
The verse about David and Jonathan says that their “souls were knit together”. I thought about my best friend. She can look at me and know exactly what I’m thinking. She can say just the right thing to make any situation better. Our souls are knit together. There’s a quote from the movie “Bride Wars”:
“Sometimes in life there really are bonds formed that can
never be broken. Sometimes you really can find that one person who will stand by you no matter what. Maybe you will find it in a spouse and celebrate it with your dream wedding. But there's also the chance that the one person you can count on for a lifetime, the one person who knows you sometimes better than you know yourself is the same person who's been standing beside you all along.”
I feel like this portrays David and Jonathan’s friendship…the kind of friendship that God intended us to have in life. A sacred and true friendship that is based on love for Him, loyalty to each other, and encourages your own personal relationship with Him. There’s no better phrase I can think of to label such a friendship, other than “soul mates”.
“…the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul…”
1 Samuel 18:1 KJV
