Daily Manna: Boundless Love"Wednesday 18, December 2013"*TEXT: 1 SAMUEL 20:35-42*
*"KEY VERSE: “And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded” (1 Samuel 20:41)."*
In March 2002, a Norwegian cruise ship’s captain exhibited a rare concern for a 24-year old crew member who fell overboard into the Atlantic Ocean one evening. The ship, with over 1,000 passengers aboard, was on its way to St. Martin Island in the Caribbean. The crew only discovered, four hours later, that the lady was missing when she could not show up for a late roll call. The captain decided to turn back in search of her body, as against other passengers’ wish to continue the journey.
After over four hours of back-tracking their path, a passenger, among those that gathered on the deck to look for a floating body, caught a glimpse of her and she was still alive. She had treaded the water for 10 hours, without any inclination that the ship would return to look for her. That was how she was saved.
The ship’s captain’s concern for the lady illustrated Jonathan’s boundless love for David who was earmarked for death. Jonathan had the clear possibility of inheriting the throne after the death of his father, Saul, who was the first king of Israel. But he sacrificed the kingship position at the altar of his love for David.
Our text, which quite noted the coded message between Jonathan and David, revealed how Jonathan took a boy with him to the field, shot an arrow and asked him to go after it. As the boy went for the arrow, Jonathan shouted at him, “make speed, haste, stay not,” a message, which David clearly understood that he should run for his dear life because Saul would certainly kill him if he stayed a moment longer. What a love!
Do you love other people or you are desirous to satisfy your selfish interest at the detriment of their welfare? Are you making efforts to rescue those whose lives are in danger, both physically and eternally? God is taking stock of your thoughts and actions.
*THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Love is the beauty of the soul.
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