Qualities of Friendship

July 4th is coming out in just a few days. When we think of the July 4th weekend, we always think of fireworks, picnics, day off, Declaration of Independence, America's birthday, July 4th, 1776. And I always think, try to at least, and have had the habit periodically, and I can't say I do it every year, I read the Declaration of Independence or parts of it.

More recent years, I bought a book about the President John Adams that was written a number of years ago by David McCullough. I usually read a little bit of that during that particular time, because John Adams was intimately involved with the Declaration, even though Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, and is credited as being the author.

John Adams actually sold it on the floor of the Continental Congress and was its basic debater and presenter of it when it came to that end. So the two men actually worked hand in glove to produce that document, get it passed with the Continental Congress, and it was signed, as we all know, and initiated the beginning of our country, the United States of America, on July 4th, 1776.

Adams and Jefferson had a remarkable relationship that brought them together at that time. Adams was from Massachusetts, Jefferson was from Virginia. They came from both farming backgrounds, but two different regions of the country, and they were two different men of temperament and personalities. But they forged a relationship in that heat of that event, and both of them served as president. John Adams was the second president of the United States. Thomas Jefferson was the third president and succeeded John Adams of the presidency. They had a very good friendship that developed as well for a number of years, 1776, onward in that period. But politics came between them, personalities, other issues, and there came a point in time, sometime after the declaration period, that Adams and Jefferson fell out and were bitter foes, especially when Adams became president, and during the heat of battle, pitched battles during that time, I won't go into all of the story of those episodes. But they came to a point where they no longer talked to one another and actually really did. At least had a dislike for one another. Adams's wife no longer trusted Jefferson. She was a very influential person with John Adams, Abigail Adams.

And the relationship just cool, and for all intents and purposes, died. Both men served their time. Jefferson served two terms as president. They both retired to their homes, Jefferson to Monticello, Adams to Quincy, Massachusetts.

And as the years wore by, as it happens with human relationships, sometimes people forget why they had problems in a relationship. And in this case, around 1809 to 1812, certain events began to transpire, and these two men struck up a relationship once again. There was a mutual friend between them, a man named Benjamin Rush. He was a doctor from Philadelphia. He was one of the signers of the declaration. In 1809, Rush actually had a dream that the two had reconciled, and circumstances kind of came together, and that dream actually came true. Because Rush made an overture to Adams and says, why don't you write Jefferson? And about 1812, he did. He sat down and he wrote a letter and began a correspondence, sent it to Jefferson. It was well received. Jefferson responded, and boom! Their friendship blossomed once again. It's like pouring water on a dried out plant or something, or seed, and life began to spring back into the relationship. And thus began in 1812, a correspondence between these two men. They never ever saw each other again, but they wrote letters back and forth. And of course, in that day, there were months in between the correspondence, as the postal system was. There was no, obviously, faster means of communication. And it was a remarkable period of time and relationship that was rekindled during that time. An olive branch was offered, as Dr. Rush said to John Adams, he said, permit me to suggest to you to receive the olive branch offered to you by the hand of a man who still loves you. And it was on New Year's Day, 1812, that Adams sat down and wrote his first letter, and it was often running in their relationship. And dozens of letters were sent back over the years, actually hundreds of letters, when it was all said and done over a period of time. At one point, as David McCullough tells the story here, Adams made a comment to Jefferson in one of his letters that I thought was indicative of a friendship and relationship between two people, whether it's in marriage or two people in a lifelong type of friendship. And it was remarkable. And I've always remembered this, and I've got it marked here on page 607.

John Adams wrote to Thomas Jefferson. He was trying to draw him out, and Adams said to Jefferson, You and I ought not to die before we have explained ourselves to each other. We ought not to die until we have explained ourselves to one another. And I've always thought about that statement, and I've wondered what depth of relationship to two people, whether in marriage or as friends, to women, to men, ever get to where they fully explain themselves to one another and open themselves up without fear because of the trust, because of the experiences, because of the relationship, to get to really be acquainted. What a wonderful, deep relationship. Anything. Marriage. Friendship. Would be.

This is a remarkable example from American history, and it, to me, is one of the best examples from secular history to illustrate the effort that it takes to build and to maintain enduring, deep friendships over a lifetime. And when I use the word friendship here today, as I would at any time, you and I can relate this to friends that we might have, and certainly we can relate that, I would hope, to our mates.

My wife is my best friend, and I look upon her that way, and I think she looks upon me as her best friend as well, and we have explained each other to one another over the years. But to have that type of relationship between two people is a very, very important and valuable thing.

And I've always been a student of friendships, and I think many of you have as well, and wondering what are the qualities of friendships, and why certain ones last, and why friendships that I've had that were, at one point in my life, died. Why they didn't last. Why did some last? Why have some endured?

And I think it's an important thing to understand about ourselves.

And I think there's an example in the Bible that we can study to help us to understand some of the qualities, along with many, many proverbs. But there's one study of a friendship that I think can help us to understand this depth of relationships that we need to build, and especially with those of like faith, like mind, and our journey toward the Kingdom of God. The relationship that I'm talking about is that of David and Jonathan in the Old Testament. I'd like to go back and take us quickly through a brief study of that relationship, because it offers us, I think, some instruction. It's told in 1 Samuel. You can go ahead and turn to 1 Samuel chapter 18. We can begin there.

We know the two principles. David was the young shepherd taken from the fields, chosen to replace Saul as the king of Israel. After killing Goliath, David went to the court of Saul, and he became friends there with Saul's son, Jonathan. David also married Jonathan's sister, Michael, one of Saul's daughters.

So there was a family relationship that was made there, as would have been the case in this type of situation. And the relationship that began to develop between the two individuals was quite remarkable. In 1 Samuel chapter 18, this is after the episode with Goliath. David comes to the family, to the court of Saul. Verse 1 of chapter 18 says that when 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. A very, very deep, close relationship began to develop. An affinity between the two, they were both soldiers. They were both about, would have been about the same age. They were tied by family. Saul took him that day, would not let him go home to his father's house anymore. Jonathan and David made a covenant because he loved him as his own soul.

And so the relationship developed. They had similar interests. They developed them. They began to spend time together. So much so that it says in verse 4, Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt. Now, understand, these are tools of war. Very, very important tools to people like David or Jonathan in this age, in this time.

And this is what he gave and shared with David. And the relationship was set up there between these two men. Now, we know that David began to, in a sense, prosper. His stature and reputation grew among the people. As this story goes on here, and Saul's jealousy grew and grew. The study of Saul in relation to here and the whole other sermon that would make a fascinating sermon of where Saul's sin, which caused God to reject him, and then David's success coming into the mix and Saul perhaps not fully grasping what was taking place, led to his bitterness and resentment that just completely altered his personality and caused him to be jealous of David and to just completely unravel the family and the relationship Saul had as king.

As the story goes on here, he even attempted to destroy David, Saul did, on at least two occasions. And of course, that created a great deal of tension. In chapter 20, David had to flee this presence and flee this problem. Verse 1, we just kind of skip through a few here. Chapter 20 kind of defines this loyalty and this relationship with Jonathan. David fled from Naoth in Rama and went and he said to Jonathan, What have I done? This is after Saul had made an attempt on his life. What is my iniquity?

What is my sin before your father that he seeks my life? So Jonathan said, By no means you shall not die. Indeed, my father will do nothing either great or small without first telling me. Why should my father hide this thing from me? Is it not so? Jonathan is basically saying, look, our relationship is going to in some ways transcend that of mine to my father. And it is not going to be harmed by these problems and this political intrigue. David took an oath again and he said, Your father certainly knows that I found favor in your eyes.

And he has said, Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved. Truly, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death. David knew how perilous his situation really was. His life, his standing, his stature, and he is probably at this point beginning to wish he were back in the fields, back as a shepherd, not caught up in the intrigue and the politics at court. So Jonathan said to David in verse 4, Whatever you yourself desire, I will do it for you.

And David said to Jonathan, Indeed, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to set with the king to eat. But let me go, that I may hide in the field until the third day at evening. And if your father misses me at all, then say, David earnestly asked permission of me that he might run over to Bethlehem, his city. There is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. If he says, That's okay, it's well, your servant will be safe.

But if he is very angry, be sure that evil is determined by him. Meaning that perhaps Saul would have an apostate for him.

David is kind of opening himself up to Jonathan and saying, Look, if you're an agent of your father, and you're filled with guile and deceit toward me, let's get this over with right now. But Jonathan said in verse 9, Far be it from you, for if I knew certainly that evil was determined by my father to come upon you, then would I not tell you? David said, Who will tell me? Or what if your father answers you roughly? So how am I going to know Saul's reaction at court? Jonathan said, Come, let's go to the field. So both of them went out.

Jonathan said to David, The Lord God of Israel is witness when I have sounded out my father sometime tomorrow, or the third day by then. Indeed, there is good toward David. And I do not send to you and tell you, May the Lord do so and much more to Jonathan. But if it pleases my father to you evil, then I will report it to you and send you away that you may go in safety. The Lord will be with you as he has been with my father.

And you shall not only show me the kindness of the Lord while I still live, that I may not die. But you shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever, nor not when the Lord has cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth. So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the Lord require it at the hand of David's enemies. And Jonathan again caused David to vow, because he loved him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

And Jonathan said to David, Tomorrow's the new moon, and you'll be missed, because your seat will be empty. And when you've stayed three days, go quickly and come to the place where you hid in the day of the deed and remain by the stone he's held. And then I will shoot three arrows to the side as though I shot at a target. And this is the system that he sets up for that.

And the story goes on. And Jonathan learns that his father indeed is seeking the life of David. And down in verse 30, we find that in the confrontation between father and son, Saul's anger was aroused against Jonathan, and he said, You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother's nakedness?

For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom. Now therefore send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die. And Jonathan answered Saul and his father and said, Why should he be killed? What has he done? Saul cast a spear at him to kill him, by which Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to kill David.

Saul, again, in the blindness, and this is what bitterness and revenge and anger does. It distorts logic. It distorts normal feelings and affection. And you see Saul even turning on his own son, seeking his life, calling him names because of the jealousy that is here. And he does speak a reality to Jonathan that if David lives, Jonathan, you will not be king. We kill him, then you'll be king. He's trying to appeal to his own son to turn on his friend and offering the throne.

And that doesn't deter Jonathan. Jonathan, verse 34, he gets up from the table. He's angry. He leaves. And he's grieving for David because his father has treated him shamefully. So he went out into the field, to time and place appointed, and there he sets up the arrangement by which he signals to David what is to take place.

And down in verse 41, as soon as the lad had gone, David arose from a place toward the south, where he'd been hiding and watching. He fell on his face to the ground, and he bowed down three times. And they kissed one another, and they wept together, but David more so. Then Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, since we have both sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, May the name of the Lord be between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever. So he arose and departed. Jonathan went into the city. So this chapter 20 really describes the defining events of their relationship and what was taking place here.

There was one more scene in chapter 23, where the two meet, and what is said here is important to note. Verse 14 of chapter 23, David was down in the wilderness of Ziph. Saul was searching him out. But God protected David, kept him from being found. And verse 16, Jonathan rose, went to David in the woods, and strengthened his hand in God. And he said to him, Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that.

So the two of them made a covenant before the Lord, and David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house. And this appears to be the last time they met. And so, Jonathan indicates he knew the ramifications of David remaining alive, that he, Jonathan, would not be king.

But to him, the relationship and the friendship was more important. Jonathan also had to have deeply known that David was chosen by God to be the king, even though his father was still alive. And so you can imagine the conflicting emotions in Jonathan's mind as all of this worked through this, through him. It didn't weaken the bond that the two of them had. Jonathan came down to the point where he made a decision that he would rather lose a kingship than a friendship.

He'd rather lose the throne than his relationship and his friendship with David. He was thinking in this, David would continue on, and eventually, through whatever circumstance, David would become king. And he would have a role to play, that there would be there what would have happened to his father in his own mind. Jonathan doesn't seem to know or to say in that sense that that isn't indicated. You would have had to realize that Jonathan must have calculated that Saul was not going to hand over the throne to David, and therefore he would have had to come to a point where he died.

And so Jonathan had to recognize that. But Jonathan had seen that his father had squandered the opportunity that was put before him. He had a certain, must have had a certain set of values that caused him to make that evaluation of his own father. And so that he too was not blinded by either a lust for power or a blind love for his father, that he was going to throw in his lot with his father right or wrong. You know, the old saying, blood is thicker than water, as some people say.

Jonathan was not going to bow for that. He saw that his father had lost the opportunity. David would be king. And so the relationship that he had with David, whom he loved as a brother, was strong. But on the other hand, Jonathan, as he loved and respected David, he really couldn't abandon his father either. Because he doesn't join David in his band of merry men in the wilderness. He stays with his father. He goes back to him. And they fight side by side. So he cast in his lot with his father.

There was a level of loyalty and respect there. When Saul and Jonathan do die together in battle, the song that we have in 2 Samuel chapter 1 that David makes, he says of the two that in death they were not divided. So Jonathan maintained loyalty to his father. And indeed, Jonathan's example is one of a sterling example of loyalty here. He teaches us a great deal. He stood by his commitment to David, the friendship they had there, and what he saw God doing with David.

And yet he stayed with his father. And eventually, even to his own hurt. And you know, David saw that, understood it. Hold your place here in 1 Samuel and turn back, if you will, to Psalm 15.

This is a Psalm that describes a person of integrity. A man who, a person who will dwell with God in his holy hill, abide with God in his tabernacle. We sing this hymn, this Psalm is one of our hymns. And David, it's the Psalm of David, and he describes an upright man of integrity. Who walks uprightly, works righteousness, speaks the truth in his heart, does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor does he take up a reproach against his friend. In whose eyes a vile person is despised, but he honors those who fear the Lord. And then at the end of verse 4, he says, he who swears to his own hurt and does not change. He swears to his own hurt. Now what that means is, he'll make a pledge, he'll make a promise, and if it's going to cost him, he's going to fulfill it. He's going to stay true to his word. Even if it costs him, he will swear to his own hurt, and he does not change. He doesn't pull a switch. And I was thinking about this as I was looking through the example of David and Jonathan again, and considering what Jonathan had to give up. I remembered this phrase, and I wondered when David wrote this down as a Psalm, I wonder if he was thinking about Jonathan. Because Jonathan swore to David in a covenant we just read, in a relationship, and he swore to his own hurt. Because he maintained also his loyalty to his father, and the conflicting covenants, agreements cost or hurt Jonathan. He swore to his own hurt. Because as he stayed loyal to his dad, which he should have.

Jonathan had a level of integrity, which is a key to a good friendship. Integrity. Integrity. Soundness of purpose. Jonathan could have played one against the other. He could have betrayed David into the hand of Saul, his father, and thus eliminated his rival and sealed his secession to the throne. You know, it's a typical plot in a book, novel, movie. A double cross, but he didn't do it. He didn't do it. He didn't play one against the other for his own personal gain.

He didn't use David to knock off his father and then double cross David and then say, now it's all mine, in this three-way relationship. He didn't do that. To him, what he saw in the relationship with David was more important. The result was personal loss for him and also for his family, as his father predicted that it would. Great friendships sometimes carry great cost. Good, solid, enduring relationships sometimes carry a cost. And in this one it did. In this one it did. Well, back in Samuel 31, you find Jonathan and Saul died.

And in 2 Samuel chapter 1, it was a gruesome scene. The heads were cut off. Bodies were hung on walls. Warfare in such a time as that, the loser really, really went through it. So often it's the case, even in death. I mean, it was not enough for the foe to be killed. They sometimes had to be drawn and quartered, the head cut off. Their body put on a wall for all to see. Blood lust goes a long, long way toward some type of fulfillment. But in 2 Samuel chapter 1, David laments the news about the death of both, especially Jonathan.

He laments in verse 17 of chapter 1, 2 Samuel. He lamented over Saul and over Jonathan his son. Verse 19, the beauty of Israel is slain on your high places how the mighty have fallen. Verse 22, from the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back, and the sword of Saul did not return empty. Saul and Jonathan were beloved and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided. They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. Verse 25, oh, how the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle.

Jonathan was slain in your high places. I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan. You have been very pleasant to me. Your love to me was wonderful, surpassing the love of women. Some people try to make out of this that this was a homosexual type of relationship. That's not the case. It is speaking to the type of friendship of two men, just as two women can have a very, very deep bonds that in a sense accomplishes or fulfills something within relationships that even for some within marriage is never achieved.

And so they had a unique period of time together, and David Lamentz puts it all, pours it all out here in this unique psalm. No doubt had music to it at one time. It would be very interesting to hear something like that put to music even in our own modern times. And so David then becomes king and goes on in the story. But the relationship between the two is one that for me has always been fascinating to consider and to study. There are four truths I take out of this relationship between Jonathan and David that teach me something about themselves, but the story, and also about friendships, relationships.

The first truth is this. Their friendship grew out of a deep commitment to God. A deep commitment to God. David was the psalmist. He was the one chosen at the time by Samuel. Remember, Samuel went into the house of Jesse and looked at the older sons, and none of them were God's choice. And God revealed that it was David, the man after his own heart. He says, I look upon the heart.

You, Samuel, can only look upon the outward appearance. Jonathan must have had an equal respect for the God of Israel, and for him to have again had the integrity that I talked about, and to have been drawn to David. They had to have something in common more than just war. They were two warriors, but if that's all they had had, you have to wonder that, again, double-cross would have come in, and infidelity and the relationship would have entered at some point. I think that Jonathan's respect for the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was just as deep as David's.

We just don't read about it. Maybe he didn't write psalms. And yet that's what was the core of their friendship. Friendships of like-minded people in the faith, in God's Church, are some of the closest and best friendships that we can have and maintain. For many of us, those indeed are. For me, my closest friend is sitting here on the front row.

I have other friends that have endured over the years, and four decades and more, in our relationships within the Church. I've had some friends that, though we share the same faith still, times, circumstances have dimmed the feeling and the relationship, and they have not maintained a closeness. We would be acquainted with one another. We would be friendly. But to be on a close, intimate basis in terms of sharing and keeping in touch, things and circumstances have changed in my life with friends that I've had over the years.

But the ones that I've maintained are the deepest ones, are those where there is a shared commitment to the truth, to the Word, to the Church, especially within the ministerial friends that I have, to the shared ministry that we have. But for us in the Church, these friendships that grow out of a deep commitment to God can be some of the strongest.

And that's what I think was at the heart of David and Jonathan's. The second truth is that they let nothing come between them. They let nothing come between them. In Proverbs 16, we find a proverb that can bear on this. Proverbs 16. In verse 28, we read of one type of situation that can come between people.

Proverbs 16.28, it says, The first man sows strife, and a whisperer separates the best of friends. Gossip, information shared, confidence is not kept, can separate relationships, cause people to fall out. It takes work to keep that from happening. In Proverbs 17 and verse 9, the same principle is repeated. He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates friends. A transgression can be dug up, can be repeated, can be shared, divulged, and it can rupture relationships.

He who repeats a matter separates friends. And for two friends to overcome any such situation may require some work and willingness to forgive, willingness to overlook, time on the phone, time on correspondence. Today we're not like Adams and Jefferson taking months to exchange a letter back and forth, but we have email, we have telephones, and that in itself can take some time to cultivate. Sometimes friendships might need far more than that, personal contact, sit down over a cup of coffee, even make a trip, even take a day, spend some time, and to even do that takes work because we're all busy.

Or we get to a point where we say, I don't know, is it worth it? Communication has to be kept up. Things happen that can separate people. David and Jonathan didn't let any opportunity, any type of greedy situation or the problem that was in front of them, separate them. And yet that is a key to keeping a long and deep friendship. A third truth of Jonathan and David, when their friendship was tested, when there was conflict over whatever source, they grew closer.

When it was tested because of conflict, and you know, look, conflict can come because of friction between two people or because of other situations. Conflict at work, conflict within a family situation, can separate members of a family. Conflict within the church can separate people and test a relationship. When friendship was tested between Jonathan and David, they grew closer.

How about you? Has conflict separated you over the years from anyone? Whatever the conflict may be, differences of opinion, differences of children. I had a friend one time, and we'd had several years of friendship, and they never had children, and we did. And I remember we were visiting their house one time, and our children were kind of acting up, and it kind of irritated and grated the nerves of the others. And the time was said, you know, in the context of a close house and a couple of days of being around each other, and maybe an hour too long or a day too long, and, hmm, all it took was one comment, and it cooled.

It just cooled. And, you know, who's right, who's wrong, should I have done, should I have overlooked? Yeah, I probably should have. Did I? Not necessarily. And the friendship settled out at a different level. We stopped visiting, communicating. Oh, and we would see each other. We were still friendly, but it was a different level of friendship. A few years ago, his wife died, and I called him, and, you know, we still have certain connections going back a number of years, but, you know, things change, as they do in some relationships.

And so conflict will test a relationship. It will test a marriage. We all know how you have to work through, forgive, overlook, sometimes, and let it cause you to grow closer in the long run. Here in Proverbs 17 and verse 17, it says, A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Conflict can bring you closer together if you let it work. Whatever, again, the conflict might be. A friend loves at all times. Just because a person is down and out on their luck financially, or through some other situation, that's not the time to abandon them, because things are changed, and you can't run with them in the same way, can't do the same things, and maybe they can't go with you to that fine restaurant, because they can't afford it.

Sometimes economic status is the only level of friendship, and if it changes for one and not the other, boom.

It's gone. But a friend loves at all times, and that's what happened with David and Jonathan. And the fourth truth of their relationship is that they remain close until the end, as evidenced by David's lament at his death.

Friendships are very, very valuable, very, very important. They are at the heart of our fellowship. They are at the heart of marriage. We talk about fellowship with one another as we come to church each week, and maintain friendships with people we've met at the feast, or other congregations, and other situations, and college, and whatever it might be. And that forms the fabric of life. You think whether it's a, especially in a lot of movies, I wrote and written down a list of so-called buddy movies, so many movies that are based upon a friendship between people. My favorite movie I always list is Lonesome Dove. And at the heart of the story of Lonesome Dove is the friendship of these two crusty old Texas Rangers. For those of you that know the story. And, you know, Gus and, what's the other one's name? Woodrow. Gus and Woodrow. That's the basis of the whole story. They make this long cattle drive from south Texas all the way up to Montana. I was thinking, you know, Harry and Tonto, Rain Man. If I'm thumbing through the cable channels and I run across Rain Man, I have to stop and watch Rain Man. I guess some of you do too as well. And that's the story of a relationship between two brothers, two lost brothers, that come back together. You think of a favorite movie or a so-called buddy movie. Dennis Hopper died here recently and that easy writer was his catapult into fame with Peter Fonda years ago in a biker movie. I was thinking about Thelma and Louise for two women. I don't recommend that type of relationship for any of us to emulate. But I guess the only thing to learn from that one is just, you know, again, there's a friendship. And that's probably more of a destructive friendship than it is one that builds people up. But it is the story of movies and it's the stuff of stories, as it is here from David and Jonathan. And it is really so much of our lives. We're enriched by those relationships. We are impoverished when we don't have the right ones and can be left astray, led astray, if we don't have the right ones at times. And they are so important. And that's why it's important to study these from time to time and to learn certain lessons of the ones that work and make sure we are doing what we can to be friendly and to maintain and to work hard at the friendships that we have. Because friendships that endure take hard work, they take care, and they take cultivation. I started the sermon by talking about the relationship and the friendship of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. From 1812 to 1826, these two men wrote letters back and forth.

I don't know if those letters have ever been compiled into a book. They may have by somebody. I think it would be a fascinating book to read. But they maintained their correspondence as they both grew over through the years, for 14 years, in this letter writing, back and forth. Two men who had been friends, become enemies, political enemies, drifted apart, brought back together, and then forms one of the most remarkable stories of, in a sense, a literary story and a friendship in American history.

What's not always remembered by some is how the story came to an end. Because they both died in 1826. They both died on the same day. You know what the day was? July 4th. It was the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and they both died on the same day. These two men, one was the literal author of the Declaration, and Adams took it and marshaled it through the Continental Congress. In fact, Trumbull's famous painting of the signing of the Declaration that we all see in American history, as John Adams planted right in the center. Jefferson's holding the Declaration, but Adams is the centerpiece. The two men are right in the center of the whole story, and they both died on the same day with a few hours apart. Jefferson died early in the morning on the 4th, in his home in Virginia, on that hilltop. And in Massachusetts, a little bit later in the day, John Adams died. He died thinking Adams was still alive because he is quoted as kind of rousing himself at one point, knowing that it was the 4th, and he said, thank God Jefferson still lives. And about a little after 6 o'clock in the evening, it had been raining that day. There were cannons going off to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and they could hear it as they were gathered around the bed of John Adams there in Massachusetts. They heard cannon roaring, and a big storm came up in the afternoon and then settled out into a steady rain. And shortly after 6 o'clock on that day, John Adams died. And McCullough tells the story, as only David McCullough, who I think is America's best history teacher, tells the story, when Adams breathed his last and died, to quote from the book, as those present would remember, ever after, there was a final clap of thunder that shook the house. The rain stopped, and the last sun of the day broke through dark, low-hanging clouds, bursting forth with uncommon splendor at the moment of his exit, with a sky beautiful and grand beyond description, one of the bystanders wrote. And so as he died, the rain stopped, a clap of thunder, and the sun came out. It's true. It's not a work of fiction. Both men dying on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It's a fascinating story. It kind of fits the time of the year. And in a sense, that scene capped their friendship and their relationship at that particular time. So some friendships can endure. Many can. And the best ones will require hard work, care, and cultivation. What we learn from a few people in history, two people from the Bible, and any other valuable, enduring friendship should and can serve us all well as we build, maintain, develop our own friendships in our journey toward God's Kingdom.