Enduring Friendship

There are beautiful examples of enduring friendship recorded in the Old Testament, notably those of David and Jonathan and of Naomi and Ruth. We read in the eighteenth chapter of I Samuel: "The soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul." Then there follows the intensely interesting story of some of the ways in which Jonathan proved his love for David, even to the extent of protecting him against the efforts of his father to take David's life. And the first chapter of Ruth contains this remarkable pledge of friendly loyalty on the part of Ruth, when she said to Naomi, "Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God."

In our own day, those of riper years will readily recall friendships formed in youth which have continued unbroken in spite of the efforts of error to destroy them. And yet our Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, knowing well the unstable nature of human affection, says (Retrospection and Introspection, pp. 80, 81), "There are no greater miracles known to earth than perfection and an unbroken friendship." Perhaps the reason why human friendships often do not survive the assaults of jealousy, envy, misunderstanding, and other subtle weapons used by mortal mind, is that these friendships, especially those of an ardent nature, are frequently founded on personal sense—personal possession and personal domination—rather than upon Principle.

It is written of Abraham that he "believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God." These words could only have been truly written of Abraham because he was faithful and obedient to his highest sense of divine Principle, even to the point of being willing to sacrifice his only son, a sacrifice which was not, however, required of him. It was because of fidelity to his highest understanding of God that he became known as "the Friend of God." In her definition of Abraham on page 579 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mrs. Eddy says, "This patriarch illustrated the purpose of Love to create trust in good, and showed the life-preserving power of spiritual understanding."

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Admission to The Mother Church
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