Kindred Spirits

Dear Friends-
I hope your praying has been going well and that you are writing down what God is teaching you in this time. Like I have seen previously the things God has been teaching me have been BIG and it has been beautiful.

One of the big themes has been the importance of building Christ founded relationships in all areas of my life. The beauty of what Christ can do surpasses what the world can do. The spirit gives us the fruit
Galations 5:22-23 " But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." These qualities are beautiful and its the spirit and fruit that you possess that will attract people.

I wrote a couple of blog posts back about Daniel and Jonathan and the bond that they had that was a connection of their souls. A beautiful testament to true gospel partnership. In 2nd Samuel 1 David is told that Saul and Jonathan have died and it breaks his heart so much that He gives this prayer of lament. To lament something is to weep or mourn and when you find something so beautiful of course your going to mourn when you lose it.

In 1 Samuel 1: 25-26 David speaks these words:

 ²⁵ "How the mighty have fallen
   in the midst of the battle!

   "Jonathan lies slain on your high places.
 ²⁶I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
very pleasant have you been to me;
    your love to me was extraordinary,
   surpassing the love of women.

The rest of the prayer mentions Saul as well, which is beautiful in itself that David could mourn someone who tried to kill him so many times. But the beauty I want to focus on for this post is
this idea that we can suffer well. I heard a sermon on it yesterday that discussed Philippians and encouraged that you can chose to let God refine you through your struggles, that you can suffer for his glory that you might have a testimony and share what God has done for you or you can simply mourn. You can let God strengthen you or you can walk away from Him.

This beautiful account of Jonathan and David was a love "surpassing the love of women." Why would He say this? Men love women right? Yes-- they do but what David loved here was the soul connecting friendship that I don't know if He had with any of his 3 wives (back in the day this is how they did it--- not ok now). This connection is deep and all knowing that even if you don't know every fact about someone you know the true heart of them when it is consumed by Christ and that connection is deeper than any superficial friendship the world can offer. David, though heartbroken, understand that there was purpose as he writes Psalm 119:71 "It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes".  Whether He was talking about this specific situation or not it is still a testament to the fact that God can turn a mess into a message.  I would agree--- though some things have been hard to endure in my life there is a hope that comes from knowing that it was God's purpose for his glory. I'd consider that when we truly understand the suffering that Christ went through our suffering almost becomes insignificant.

Run after God so that you might have fruit of the spirit that attracts  other people who are running the same race so that together you can run and bring more glory to God and that you can experience true gospel partnership here on earth. Definitely not as cool as a relationship with God but a beautiful thing that He can use to encourage you and sharpen you and grow you. Someone who can help you see the good that is in the times of trial. Someone who can love you more than those of the world but can understand the very essence that is your soul. When your running after God and someone else is as well it's almost as though you know them without knowing them because you know that everything they do is for the purpose of the kingdom.

David describes the love that He and Jonathan have as "Extraordinary" meaning "beyond the usual." How accurate! True relationships built on Christ are just that... completely beyond the usual. They call for a high standard and I believe that is why we are called to sharpen one another. We have that ability only if we are filled with Christ.

I'm so thankful for the people that God has put in my life that are like this relationship that Jonathan and David had. It is overwhelming how helpful those relationships can be in that they grow you, just as the afflictions did to David, the understand God more and more. To understand His love, His law, and to understand that no one will ever understand the beautiful Lord's ways.

Like David, these friendships will have an end on earth but the beauty is that we are promised eternity and I don't know if we will have time to even notice if anyone else is there because we will be so consumed with the awe of God but if we do notice it will be a beautiful reunion.

It is hard to build these relationships at times because we are human and we are afflicted with the pain and destruction of the world and so it can be hard to be open enough to allow for this. In Phillipians 2:19-24 we see another deep spirited friendship of Timothy and Paul :
"¹⁹I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. ²⁰For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. ²¹For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. ²²But you know Timothy’s^[a] proven worth, how as a son^[b] with a father he has served with me in the gospel. ²³I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, ²⁴and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

Timothy and Paul had a trust that can't be explained because they knew that they stood for the same things. So in a time where Christians were being persecuted and it was not always safe to say you followed Jesus Paul and Timothy worked together for the purpose of the Lord and that bonded them. That gave them a trust and peace that surpasses all understanding.  Paul has no one like Him that is also running after God. It shows us that running after God together bonds you as more than superficial friendships but kindred spirits

Philippians 2:12 says "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling," I'd argue that we should do that together. These friendships are so peculiar and uncommon.

Like Jonathan was more than thankful for David, like Paul was thankful for Timothy, let us be thankful for those in our lives that are running with us. Let us build these deep spirited friendships and realize their value. Let us be thankful and let these friendships bring a stronger presence of the Lord.


Pray that God show up in your relationships that you might have gospel partnerships. That you might have these deep spirited relationships. Value them and hold onto them that they might make you more like Christ.


So friends. I'm more than thankful for you and our friendship if it is built on Christ. It's so rare to have and I'm so blessed to have even one friend that is like that. I'd say that they are God ordained friendships that you can't look for but if you don't have them be praying that God would bring you people to run with and if death separates you know that we have been promised eternity!!!