Bottom line up front: Encouragers in Our Midst (Part II):

What follows are three interrelated and true stories:

First, J. J. is one of my buddies who, when I see him, even from a distance, he smiles that J. smile, and you know he’s going to have a word of kindness at hand. We joke with him that it’s because he spent a career in sales. He knows how to grip-n-grin with the best of them. He just might be able to sell snow to an Eskimo. But when I’m around him, I come away feeling motivated. I nicknamed him BB years ago, for Brother Barnabas, my encourager. Even this last Sunday before the guest speaker taught on missions, J. and I joked and shook hands and embraced, and we both were energized by our time together as we discussed theology, writing, and our families.

Second, D. D. is unique among my encouragers in that he stands out for his intellectual curiosity and biblical discernment. This past Sunday, he asked, “You know, Jon, we talk a lot about Jonathan Edwards, Spurgeon, Augustine, Luther, Calvin, and others from church eras past. And we laud men like R.C. Sproul and John MacArthur in the 20th and 21st centuries, but who else do you think will be remembered and matter in the long run, people of that caliber?” I praise God for D., a man who perceives the dearth of wise biblical teachers and shepherds in our day and is perceptive enough to ask such searching and important questions. I am continuing to think through his question, even now. He encourages me via his concern for depth and his commitment to Scripture.

From Scripture, I think it impossible to write upon the topic of encouragement without writing of the friendship between David and Jonathan. It was unique in that David’s nemesis was wicked King Saul, Jonathan’s father. Scripture records their friendship this way: “As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul” (1 Samuel 18:1, ESV). Then there’s the famous covenant between the noble Jonathan and the harried David:

12 And Jonathan said to David, “The Lord, the God of Israel, be witness![a] When I have sounded out my father, about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if he is well disposed toward David, shall I not then send and disclose it to you? 13 But should it please my father to do you harm, the Lord do so to Jonathan and more also if I do not disclose it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. May the Lord be with you, as he has been with my father. 14 If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the Lord, that I may not die; 15 and do not cut off[b] your steadfast love from my house forever, when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” 16 And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May[c] the Lord take vengeance on David’s enemies.” 17 And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

18 Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. 19 On the third day go down quickly to the place where you hid yourself when the matter was in hand, and remain beside the stone heap.[d] 20 And I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark. 21 And behold, I will send the boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,’ then you are to come, for, as the Lord lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger. 22 But if I say to the youth, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go, for the Lord has sent you away. 23 And as for the matter of which you and I have spoken, behold, the Lord is between you and me forever.” (1 Samuel 20:12-23, ESV)

Folks familiar with Scripture will know what the sign was and how things turned out for David due to wicked Saul’s temporary victory. But ultimately, the story is an exploration of the encouragement bolstered by a genuine friend. Jonathan and David were the real deal in a world of fakes and posers. And both men gave and received encouragement from one another and from God, whom they served. The story is of course also a foreshadowing of how the kingdom of darkness is dispelled by the kingdom of light, but that is for another article.

Takeaway/encouragement: Failure is not falling down, but staying down, it has been said. I’ve certainly failed at things over my years, but I hope for myself (and for you) that we don’t fail to appreciate the encouragers in our midst; may their tribe increase.