I love being with other Christian friends.  I think it is partly the reason I love the church so much.  My dad used to say, “Blood is thicker than water,” meaning that family is everything and family sticks together.  It’s how I feel about my church family.  We are connected by the body and blood of Jesus Christ!  We stick together.  We love each other.  We support each other.  We help each other through difficult times.  We also have a strong military presence in our community.  I already know how difficult it is going to be when those families must move on.

In 1 Samuel 20:12-42, David and Jonathan (Saul’s son) are connected through the work of the Holy Spirit and love each other very much. They look out for each other; support each other and care for each other.  The problem now is that David has gained so much popularity that Saul is jealous and angry.  And, now here is his son, Jonathan who favors David more than his own father.  In fact, in this story, Jonathan and David plan, in case Saul decides that he wants David killed, a way for David to escape the evil deeds of Saul.  And, so Jonathan gives David the “heads-up” that he needs to get out of town when he learns that Saul does indeed, want to have David killed.  When it comes to the time for them to leave each other, they both cry and weep – “David wept the more” (v.41).  This is really a sad story to me.

As I think about the sadness between Jonathan and David, and that even though, they both must move on because of the danger, they will always be connected through the Spirit of the Lord.  For me, it is another way to think about God’s amazing work – of how we are all bound together in the Love of our God.  It is a trust we put in God’s hands to take care of our brothers and sisters in the name of Christ!  We can no longer care for them in the same way we had been.  Therefore, we must trust God to care for them.

Let us pray…Gracious God, we love being with our fellow Christian brothers and sisters.  Saying good-bye is sometimes very difficult to do because we will miss their presence in our lives.  Help us to trust you to care for their needs – knowing that with you, all will be OK.  We love you so much.  Amen