The Friend Who Gave Away His Crown

Do you know what it feels like to wonder if anyone loves you enough to give something up for you? Not kind words or a pat on the head, but something real, something that costs them.

There was a young man named David, in the days when Israel had its very first king. Only a little while before, David had knocked down the giant Goliath with one smooth stone, and he still smelled of grass and wool from the sheep fields when he met a prince.

The prince's name was Jonathan. He was King Saul's own son.

One day the crown would be his. The robe, the throne, the sword, the whole bright kingdom. It was waiting for him, the way a warm bed waits at the end of a long day.

But the moment Jonathan saw David, something happened in his heart. He loved David like his own life. It was as if someone had taken two threads and twisted them into one, so you could not tell anymore where the first one ended and the second began.

Then Jonathan did something no prince had ever done.

He took off his royal robe and gave it to David. He gave him his belt, and his bow, and even his sword. He took the things that said I am the prince, and he laid them in the hands of his friend.

Jonathan knew what he was doing. He knew that God had chosen David to be king one day, not him. He knew that if David rose up, Jonathan would step down. And still he gave the crown away gladly, for love.

It was not easy. King Saul grew jealous and angry. He wanted to hurt David. He even threw a spear. But Jonathan stood in the way. He warned David. He hid him. He went out into a field and shot arrows in a secret message, just to keep his friend safe.

"Go in peace," Jonathan told him, with tears. "You will be king. And I will be glad."

A prince who lays down his crown. A friend who would rather lose his throne than lose the one he loves.

Long after Jonathan, another Prince came, and every crown on earth was only a small picture of his. He had a throne brighter than any king's, in heaven, where the angels sang.

And he loved his friends. He loved you.

So he took off his robe. He came down. He laid aside his crown, and then he laid down his very life, in a field of his own, beneath a darkening sky.

Jonathan gave David his robe. Jesus gave you himself.

So if you ever lie awake and wonder, Does anyone love me enough to give something up for me? you can stop wondering. Someone gave up everything for you.

As for David, King Saul's jealousy would not fade, and soon David had to run for his life into the wild hills. What happened one dark night in a cave, when the king who hunted him lay asleep close enough to touch, is the very next story.