The Jonathan Calling
I’ve seen many people over the past few months share a longing for this year to be over. It’s fair to say most of us have at times slipped into a posture of wishing away today and longing for tomorrow to be different. I can completely sympathise with this mindset, the last year has been exceptionally difficult for all of us.
So much of our attention is focussed on what we cannot do. These limitations are reinforced on a daily basis by government, media, and social media.
Let’s be a people that focus on what we can do rather than what we cannot do.
The call over every follower of Christ is the same:
To Love God
Love our neighbour
Make disciples.
Despite the restrictions we face, I believe we can grow in these 3 areas.
For this academic year of 2020-21, we believe the Lord is speaking a ‘Jonathan Calling,’ over us. I spoke back in early September on this topic, if you missed it please do have a listen.
The ‘Jonathan Calling’ vision can be summarised in 2 simple questions:
How have you grown as a disciple of Jesus?
How have you helped others grow as disciples of Jesus?
Simply put, we want to see everyone individual growing as a disciple and helping others to grow.
We long to hear stories of God growing our character, of sin been thrown off and each of us walking in greater liberty.
Stories of boldness where we are growing in confidently sharing our faith and stepping out in our gifts.
Stories of generosity where we are giving our time, money and resources to bless others.
Stories of families choosing to serve the Lord, marriages reflecting Christ’s love for the Church, singles walking in the security of Christ’s love.
Discipleship isn’t just for the eager ones, but it’s a way of life for us all. To be a Christian is to be a disciple - and to be a disciple is to be someone that is ongoingly changing to be more like Christ by his grace and power.
Faith
The Bible is full of stories of men and women who step into their Holy Spirit given gifting and calling and do incredible things for God - Jonathan is one of these stories.
Son to King Saul, Jonathan enters the story in 1 Samuel 14 in spectacular fashion. We read that Israel is at war with the Philistines, and Jonathan sneaks off with his armour-bearer to a Philistine Garrison. In a breath-taking example of faith, Jonathan faces them head-on, believing that ‘perhaps’ the Lord will give them into his hands.
This man who has everything is willing to risk it all on a ‘maybe’.
He risks his life, his armour bearer’s life and the future of Israel. As the Kings son, being killed or captured would have huge repercussions - yet without hesitation, he was willing to step out into the uncomfortable. Why? Because he trusted the Lord, he had a vision of God that was bigger than the obstacle and he trusted that the Lord would not put him to shame.
Often, I read this story and find it stirring and inspiring. But I’m also drawn to just how different I am to Jonathan. Does my faith in the power and goodness of my God lead me stepping out of my comfort zone? Am I willing to take a risk on a ‘maybe’?
The honest answer is no - I like what I have, I enjoy my comforts and am not looking for that change. Yet as I read the scriptures, I am increasingly convinced that Jesus isn’t as interested in my comfort and safety as my faith and holiness.
The battle between comfort and stepping out in faith is one that we all face. Are you ready to step out?
Do not let this year be marked by complacency, but let it be marked by faith. Put Christ first and follow him with all your heart.
Step out in faith in your daily rhythms and routines. Make time for him, pray faith-filled prayers and look out for the ‘maybe’ of God each day.
As we seek to grow our faith muscles in the quiet place, the workplace, the school run, the pub, the coffee shop, wherever it is - we will begin to see the Lord lead us into a new season of breakthrough.
Jonathan’s act of faith also leads to his armour-bearer stepping out. As we follow Jesus in faith this year, we will also lead one another deeper into the things of God. Let us look for opportunities to not just grow and develop our own faith, but to also stir it up in others. Take people on your journey of growth this year.
Love
In 1 Samuel 18, we learn about the deep and intimate friendship of Jonathan and David, and how Jonathan ‘loved David as his own soul.’
Love is a key characteristic of Jonathan’s life that I believe the Lord is calling us to be marked with. There are two dynamics to this:
1. Love for God
When we look at the life of David, the Psalms of David and the promises of David we see that they were ultimately pointing beyond himself – being fulfilled by the true and perfect David, Jesus.
As Jonathan loved David as his own soul, so are we to love the true and perfect David.
This year Jesus wants to deepen our love and friendship with him. He tells his disciples in the gospels that he does not call us servants, but friends.
Yet for many of us do not live in the goodness of this, instead, we think that Jesus endures us rather than enjoys us.
We go through each day believing that the Father is looking on us with disappointment, frustration, and despair. That is not how the Lord feels towards you, you are dearly beloved and this year he wants to draw you into greater awareness of your friendship with God.
Create time to be with him, listen to him and learn to hear his voice for yourself. Pray like you are speaking to your best friend and rest in the love of God.
2. Love for each other
The second dynamic to love is growing in our love for each other. We are to love one another as Christ has loved us - with a genuine and enduring love. The reality of the gospel is that we have been saved into relationship with the Lord and with each other.
If you think you are going to truly flourish in isolation, then you have missed it. We need to care for, honour, support and challenge one another if we want to be who Jesus has called us to be.
Make this year one where you give yourself to deepening friendship with Christ and others. Allow yourself to be vulnerable, ask for help and offer help. Don’t go it alone.
Humility
We also see in 1 Samuel 18 that Jonathan was marked out by humility.
Despite being the son of the King, he chose to give David honour. He gave himself to the flourishing and advance of another.
We all have a need to be honoured - you see it in you when someone doesn’t say thank you for that thing you did, or when you’re not acknowledged for the work you put in etc.
We want to be honoured, we want to be thought well of and we want to flourish. Yet Jonathan turns that upside down, as does Jesus. The one who deserved honour and fame was instead humiliated, mocked, beaten and crucified so that we could know honour before the Father.
He humbled himself to the point of death for us, and now we his Church are called to follow his example.
Make this year a year where you give away honour. I love the Apostle Paul’s call to the Romans to outdo one another in showing honour. The only form of competitiveness Jesus encourages is to try and honour someone more than they can honour you. Let’s be those that put Christ first and the need of others before ourselves.
Service
Jonathan’s humility also results in him being a man marked out by service. In 1 Samuel 20 we see Jonathan put himself at risk to serve David.
Jonathan hides David and tests his Father King Saul to see if he wants to harm David. When Jonathan realises that his Father is intent on harming his friend, he sends warning to David and David escapes.
Now if Jonathan had not warned his friend, David may very well have been killed by Saul and Jonathan who was next in line to the throne could have secured his kingship. But instead, he serves his friend and rescues him from harm.
This year the Lord is calling you and me to serve, to serve him with all we have.
I want to end with a prophetic urging I sense in my heart. I believe that the Lord wants to remind us that we are exiles in this world, strangers and aliens whose true home is in the new heavens and the new earth with Christ. This life is not the main event, and Jesus is calling us to live with an eternal perspective.
“Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.”
Matthew 6:19-21 (The Message Translation)
Let choose to focus on the heavenly treasures.
Let’s give ourselves fully to the kingdom calling over our lives.
Let’s seek for daily opportunities to see ourselves grow as disciples of Christ and to help others grow too.
