Friendship LOVE

(lesson 2 of 3 week 2)

In family love, the bond of blood or commitment unites people in a lasting relationship. With erotic love, passion unites with commitment to form a bond that God designed to last a lifetime. Friendship, on the other hand, can be more difficult to nail down. For example, we might form a close bond of friendship while we are away at school or in military service. Perhaps we think that we will always stay in touch with others when our education or military obligation ends. Most often we do not stay in touch. Years pass without anything more than a Christmas card (if that). Yet if we come together again those years melt away and it is as if we were transported back to the days when the friendship was a vital and living part of our daily lives.

 

·         In the Old Testament, one friendship stands above all the others---the friendship of David and Jonathan. Most people know who David was, but who was Jonathan? Read 1 Samuel 13:2,16

·         Since Saul was Jonathan’s father, David and Jonathan should have been bitter enemies. But they formed a deep and abiding friendship. David, not Jonathan, would sit on Saul’s throne after the king died. Read 1 Samuel 18-20, 1 Sam. 18:3-4, 20:12-17 to find out what covenant Jonathan established with David.

·         Read 1 Samuel 18:28-29 and 20:30-31. Are there times when a loving friendship is more important than a family relationship?

·         How do you handle a situation where two loves, such as family love and friendship, conflict with each other?