When my kids were younger, especially in upper elementary or middle school, some of them tended to label multiple friends as “best friends” at the same time.
When I first heard them declare that Friend B was their best friend, I was confused. I questioned them, “I thought Friend A was your best friend.” They responded that, yes, Friend A was also their best friend. So was Friend C and Friend D. Come to find out they believed they could have a whole alphabet of best friends.
As I questioned them further, I tried to explain the definition of the word “best.” By definition the word “best” is singular, solo, alone, by itself, above all others. There can be only one best friend. That best friend is one with whom we are closest, more so than any other person in our life. For most married people, it is their spouse. For a child, it is likely a parent, until those sometimes troubled teenage years come along. For single teens and young adults, it usually a friend of the same gender. Of course best friendships can occur in all sorts of relationships.
In the Gospel of John, we read about the “disciple whom Jesus loved,” the identity of whom is technically unknown, and yet many scholars through the ages believe it is the Apostle John himself. Jesus’ best friend, in other words, just might have been John, as evidenced by the fact that while hanging on the cross, minutes from breathing his last breath, Jesus declares to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” referring to the disciple he loved, and to that disciple, Jesus says, “Here is your mother.”
Who is your best friend? Come to think of it, maybe you do have more than one. Maybe my kids weren’t wrong. Yes, best is best, but what I suspect my kids really meant is “these are all people whom I feel are very close friends.” So who are your close friends, your best friends? Better yet, how do you treat your best friends? And still better than that, how would your friends say that you treat them?
I’m asking you about the quality of your practice of friendship because in our study of the Life of David through 1stand 2nd Samuel, this coming week we are going to observe two people who are best friends. We already learned about David & Jonathan’s friendship in this post when we studied how it all began in 1st Samuel 18, and how it was briefly tested in chapter 19. But this coming week, as we study 1st Samuel chapter 20, the entire focus will be on not just a test, but a crisis moment in their relationship. Will it survive?
Photo by Matheus Ferrero on Unsplash
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