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Key Bible Verse: "You will be Israel's king and I'll be right at your side to help." (1 Samuel 23:17, The message) Dig Deeper: 1 Samuel 18:1-4

[The friendship between David and Jonathan] was not an obvious choice—these guys grew up on different sides of the track. Jonathan was a prince, a son of King Saul and rightful heir to the throne. David was a shepherd boy. He may have been wearing the filthy clothes of a sheepherder as he stood in the presence of royalty. But Jonathan was humble enough to see David's true identity. Jonathan didn't see a shepherd boy—he saw a future king. He saw a part of God's plan, and he was willing to submit to it.

Jonathan could see David's anointing to be the future king of Israel. He must have trusted God for his own story. So he sealed his commitment to David and called out and commissioned David to live out his anointed calling by bestowing kingly gifts. He didn't give David a new and improved shepherd's staff; he gave him a sword. He didn't give him another sheep for his flock; he put a royal robe on his back. The gifts were bestowed to represent his love and loyalty to David; in a word—unity. Jonathan then spent much of his life fighting for David and risking his very life to achieve David's true heritage.

—Vance Brown in No Matter the Cost

My Response: What's one way I can encourage a friend to live up to his true identity in Christ?

Thought to Apply: If we would build on a sure foundation in friendship, we must love friends for their sake rather than for our own.—Charlotte Brontë (British novelist)

Adapted from No Matter the Cost (Bethany House, 2012) by permission. All rights reserved by the copyright holder and/or the publisher. May not be reproduced.

Copyright © 2012 by Christianity Today/Men of Integrity magazine. Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

Lord, compel me to seek out like-minded men who will commit to investing in each other's lives, so that we can encourage one another in the walk of faith.

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