Who Mentors Rock Stars? Who Mentors Them Before That?
57 And as soon as David returned from the striking down of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”
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.
It’s hard to be a bigtime superstar. For some reason, I have a lot of pity for movie stars, rock stars, etc. They can barely go anywhere without somebody asking for a selfie or autograph or whatever. Imagine trying to have a real friendship with somebody like Taylor Swift or Robert Downy Jr.! Could you talk about how much you like Major Munch fry sauce with somebody like that?
Jonathan was the son of King Saul. King Saul was the first and only ever king of Israel. Jonathan was an awesome fighter in his own right, but he was also not without privilege. If anybody wants to set the rules for what it meant to be the Prince of Israel, Jonathan got to write the rulebook by himself.
When David killed Goliath, he became an instant legend in Israel. As famous as Goliath was, David became that much greater. Jonathan saw an instant friend.
And that is just on the surface level. Deep down, David’s attitude about God and God’s people also resonated with Jonathan. Jonathan knew that all victories came from God (1 Samuel 14 is awesome) an had heard what David said to Goliath as he marched up to face the giant.
When Jonathan saw the kind of guy David was, he knew he had found a little brother. Even though they were about 10 years apart, they became bros and led the armies of Israel for years.
David didn’t have the standing or the foresight to do it, but Jonathan knew how to take David in and mentor him. He became David’s friend in the court of Saul and probably did a lot to help him fit in and get acclimated to the warrior/king lifestyle.
We all need that 10 years older kindred spirit to help us out, teach us the ropes, and lead us into an extension of their own greatness. Fill the coffee shops, open your dinner table, order pizza, buy some cronuts. Discipleship and mentorship is one of God’s greatest tools and He’s ready to use you in it.
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