I was reading the "Daily Bread" today and it spoke about the value of friends. It referred to I Samuel 20: 12-17 regarding the friendship between David and Jonathon. "Jonathan . . . loved [David] as he loved his own soul" (I Samuel 20:17)
John Chrysostom was one of the great preachers in the early church and he said regarding friends:
"Such is friendship, that through it we love places and seasons; for as . . . flowers drop their sweet leaves on the ground around them, so friends impart favor even to the places where they dwell. With friends even poverty is pleasant . . . It would be better for us that the sun were exhausted than that we should be without friends."
David drew encouragement from Jonathan when he was being hunted down by the demented King Saul. (Jonathan was King Saul's son). There was trust, understanding and encouragement between them. It would have been much more difficult for David to endure the ongoing pursuit of King Saul if it hadn't been for Jonathan.
We all need friends. Friends who will be there through the tough times as well as the good times. How rich a person is who has at least 1 - 2 of such friends!!!
What kind of friend are you? How do you evaluate your relationships with your friends??
The poem at the end of the devotional says:
"Since I have no gold to give, and love alone must make amends; my daily prayer is while I live, 'God make me worthy of my friends'.
That is my prayer as well.
"A FRIEND IS THE FIRST PERSON WHO COMES IN WHEN THE WHOLE WORLD HAS GONE OUT."
