As I have been preparing for a fresh study of David’s life, I am struck again by the value of strong, mutually beneficial relationships that serve to strengthen one another and build principled truth into the lives of each person. We usually view the relationship between David and Jonathan as collegial but in fact, it’s more likely that Jonathan was much older than David; the former in his mid-fifties, and the latter, just a newly minted nineteen. It is this relationship that has been frequently maligned by the modern mind as homosexual, but wait a minute, maybe it speaks to the current culture’s lack of experience with same-sex relationships that can be mutually beneficial without the necessity of an unholy agenda. Scripture’s account bears the mark of a true friendship that can exist between men who love God and cherish the opportunity to build truth and confidence into the life of another, and specifically in David’s case, to steady him under the most trying of circumstances- rejection and betrayal.
One of my favorite profs at Dallas Seminary was a guy named Howard Hendricks, who in teaching at DTS more than half a century, applied his craft not only in the confines of the classroom but poured himself into the life of his students by inviting them to join him on his speaking engagements, where in the midst of “just traveling” he inculcated true-to-Scripture life principles into their lives. Just think about it, Hendricks, not unlike his Savior and master, who invested in the life of his disciples and pursued a two-hour walk to Emmaus; thereby, generated in his protégés a lifetime of truth to digest. How many of those future pastors and educators would come to thrive in their own ministries because of the model laid down before them by “Prof”, who could have just as easily justified a quiet time to himself on a plane in the throws of a great read, great movie, or calming music. By the way, that’s one reason I chose Dallas Seminary. I wanted to expose myself to that kind of model.
For a number of years I worked with a family in our church who were newly married, but struggling; struggling as spouses, struggling as parents, and struggling to find their place in the church. Our Thursday evenings for several years often stretched into “late night”and as such, were not dominated by Bible study as much as they were with “doing life”; what was happening in theirs during that particular week and what I might offer them from mine, challenging, realistic, and flawed as it was. I should have gone home sooner; I know that my kids likely felt my absence, but the couple never seemed to want me to go home.
And so it is with our models and our Chief Shepherd. When we read in Acts 16 that Paul took Timothy out on the road, we may miss the larger significance of that experience. In fact, during those years that they were together, Timothy crisscrossed the meccas of the known world to show up repeatedly in Philippi, Thessolonica, and Berea- then to Ephesus, and back again to Macedonia, constantly catching up with Paul and regularly joining hands in ministry. They were likely in Rome together during Paul’s first imprisonment, Ephesus again and in Achaia. All that travel together only to culminate in Paul’s last request of Timothy, that he would join his mentor in his last hours together before his neck felt the cold steel of the blade. And then, the roles were likely reversed, Timothy showering his mentor with encouragement of the same kind that had trickled down as grace into his own life.
Oh, by the way, did I mention that a young Howie Hendricks without the benefit of a great beginning, was rescued from the streets of Philadelphia by an average guy, a bus driver, I think, who engaged him by just hanging out on the corner and playing marbles together. And as they say, the rest is history.
So, here’s to just hanging out with someone you need to help you grow up and someone who desperately needs you to assist them, to challenge them, cry with them, or otherwise, put the steel of God’s word squarely into their backbone. Their marriage may be saved, their kids may finally succeed, and you will have gained the joy of a lifelong friend, who just might join you on the most significant day of your life.
MJC
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