Friendship is one of the great blessings of life.

Here are some classic friendships in our culture: Laverne and Shirley, Lenny and Squiggy, Tom and Jerry, Batman and Robin, Butch and Sundance and and Starsky and Hutch. Remember, I said “classic.”

I have been thinking about some of my good friends over the years. There were guys like Larry Payton (second grade), Craig Davidson (eighth grade), Marty Quigley (high school) and Rick Garmon (college).

We all need friends. We were made to be in relationships. God never intended for us to go through life alone. But meaningful friendships don’t just happen. We must work at making these relationships a priority.

I want to share with you a powerful example of friendship from the Bible. Through its ups and downs, this friendship reveals some principles that we can all apply as we fight for our friends. It’s the friendship between David and Jonathan.

Most of us have a pretty good idea of who David is, but Jonathan you may not know so well. It is likely the two met when they were teenagers. You wouldn’t think they would have much in common.

David was the eighth son of a shepherd. Jonathan was the first son of a king. David was a country boy. Jonathan was from the city. David was comfortable in the pasture, while Jonathan was accustomed to the palace.

David and Jonathan’s worlds initially intersected when David was brought to the palace to play music and sing for Jonathan’s dad, King Saul. David was just a lowly shepherd boy until he stepped out of the shadow of obscurity to slay a giant named Goliath (see 1 Samuel 17).

After David set aside his harp to pick up a slingshot, his life would never be the same. David single-handedly delivered the Israelite people from the threat of the Philistines. David became a national celebrity. Everybody was talking about David, and that’s actually when David and Jonathan’s friendship began.

“After David had finished talking with Saul, he met Jonathan, the king’s son. There was an immediate bond of love between them, and they became the best of friends. From that day on, Saul kept David with him and wouldn’t let him return home. And Jonathan made a solemn pact with David because he loved him as he loved himself. Jonathan sealed the pact by taking off his robe and giving it to David, together with his tunic, sword, bow and belt.” — 1 Samuel 18:1-4 (NLT2)

We’ll dig deeper into this amazing friendship next time.

Steve Greene is the lead pastor of The Point in Seymour. Read his blog at pastorgreene.wordpress.com or email him at [email protected]. Send comments to [email protected].