In the HBO series Band of Brothers the liberation of Europe from Nazi tyranny is seen through the eyes of the 101st Airborne. In the test of live combat a kindness and care develops between comrades in arms which bonds them for life. They learn from each other how to survive and to victor.
In the Bible we see how such a bond developed between David and Jonathan. David had been anointed to replace King Saul who was Jonathan’s father. Yet despite the different destinies to which these young men had been called a bond of brotherly love developed between the two. It was forged in national warfare and in spite of family conflict. But the bond was true and lasting.
Here is one of the key biblical texts describing their friendship.
18 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. 2 And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house. 3 Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. 5 And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants (1 Samuel 18:1-5).
Centuries later and in a different part of the world, another bond of brotherly love took place. When bombs were dropping on London a publisher was relocated to Oxford which had been spared by the German air raids. His name was Charles Williams and he had written a number of imaginative works which incorporated Christian themes. C. S. Lewis read his work The Place of the Lion and felt an immediate bond with its author. Soon Charles Williams became a regular at the Inklings literary critique group with Lewis and others. The spiritual and intellectual connection Lewis felt with Williams was one of the strongest he had until he met Joy Gresham.
Later an apparent minor illness would put Charles Williams in the hospital. Lewis went to lend him a book to read and to his astonishment learned that Williams had died just a few hours earlier. Lewis would deeply mourn the death of his dear friend. Nonetheless Lewis would always be grateful for the mentoring of reason, emotions and imagination he had received from this special brother in Christ.
Do you have a special connection with a brother or sister in Christ and how does it help you grow?
A Day with C.S. Lewis 
I am blessed to have this kind of special connection. It is with my younger brother. He came to Christ before I did. After his conversion, he became burdened for my soul and reached out to me in many ways. Most importantly, because of his genuine love for me, he prayed that I would find what he had found; forgiveness, freedom, peace, and the gift of eternal life in Christ.
His persistent prayers for me were answered and we have become the best of friends. Proverbs 27:17 states, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” This beautifully describes our relationship. Whether sitting in a fishing boat, a deer hunting blind, near a campfire, or over a cup of coffee, we enter into one another’s lives at a deep and completely transparent level. We are able to share safely about anything with no hints of criticism or judgment. We celebrate victories and answers to prayer. We continue to pray about those that remain unanswered. We trust one another. We encourage each other in the knowledge that, as special as our brotherly connection is, there is a Friend that sticks closer than a brother, our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus.
God, in His generosity, has blessed me beyond my words to describe. I count the gift of my brother as one of my most treasured on this earth.
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Bob: So glad to hear that you have a biological and spiritual brother. There is a special bond in Christ which the world cannot know. Thanks for sharing.
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It is interesting that you used the term “special bond”. My brother’s middle name is Bond, an old family name. I sent the following to my dear brother years ago using that very phrase:
A SPECIAL BOND
I spent some time with a friend today-
We talked and shared and cried,
Kindred spirits-a special Bond-
And our hearts were warmed inside.
A very special friend indeed-
Sharing blessings from above,
How God is working, mending, caring-
We’re thankful for His love.
And though it was just the two of us-
Sharing with each other,
Another Friend was there as well-
Who sticks closer than a brother!
(Matthew 18:20)
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Bob, you are a blessed man, gifted.
There are some who have found an odd angle of view of Proverbs 17:17 that say”A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”
For some, their experience in family is a lesson in contrasts, where the difference is quite start, between horizontal human level love (conditional love) and has been painfully learned, during the joyful discovery of Christ’s love (His provision, forgiveness, fellowship restoration) .
Am happy for you of the exemplary bond with your brother.
A common seminary essay assignment on a given topic starts off by saying to “Compare and Contrast ….”
In today’s devotional thought, the assignment could have been “…. varying Biblical examples of successful brotherly mentoring and enduring love, with the vertical provision of love through Christ…”
May the Lord bless you and those around you and your brother, affected indirectly by the kind of bond-ability present, from the Lord, that He put into your hearts, our lives.
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Thanks for sharing the ongoing adventure of relationship with others in Christ.
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I think I’ve had friends like this on some level, even if not as close as David and Jonathan were. Certainly there’s nothing that can take the place of relationships, and yet it seems there both not only as good as gold, but as rare as that (at least in my neck of the woods). Lots of actually good friends, but friends who are alongside with us in this journey in Christ, maybe much more rare. But that is what a church in part is to be and to be becoming, a haven where that is practiced as a part of life. As natural as the air we breathe, in and through Jesus by the Spirit. In other words not forced.
I do remember one friend in particular from way back when. We had a special bond, but I lost track of him over the years. A good brother who was trying to mentor me, I being a young believer at the time.
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Ted: Sometimes people become mentors at different seasons in our life. When I was a prof at Moody the head of the missions department mentored me in spiritual leadership of mission trips. It was very needful at the time.
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I have a special relationship with a dear brother in Christ who loves me even though he knows everything about me. He has forgiven me more than seventy times seven, he listens and encourages me, he makes me laugh, he has been a loving husband to me for over 40 years, he is other-centered, not self-centered, he is an excellent example to our family of how to be a loving son, a patient son-in-law, a supportive and loving father, a caring father-in-law, a fun Papa, and a faithful friend. He loves the Lord and he has taught me how to grow in Christ-likeness as I observe his way of life, up close and personal. I praise God for bringing him into my life and drawing us toward Himself is surprising ways. Our relationship is like a triangle, although we are very different from each other, the closer we get to God the closer we are to one another.
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Despina: Thank you so much for your wonderful comments about your Christian husband. It was Martin Luther who said: “There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion or company than a good marriage.” It sounds like you and your husband have discovered this together on the shared road of faith.
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