The Armor-Bearer

In 1 Samuel 14:1-13 there is an incredible story of how Jonathan, through a righteous indignation confronted and killed many of Israel's enemies. Although Jonathan's bravery and passion for God both inspires & challenges me, I want to talk about his Armor-bearer. When Jonathan approached his Armor-bearer to basically ask "are you with me in this", his Armor-bearer responded saying "Go ahead. Do what you think best. I'm with you all the way." (1Sam14:7msg) I was struck by the willingness of this young Armor-bearer to follow Jonathan in, what would seem like a suicide mission - yet because of this partnership they were able to attack one of the Philistine outposts & kill around 20 enemies. (2 men vs. 20 enemy soldiers!)

"I'm with you all the way"

The reason why I was so impacted by the Armor-bearer in this story is because, upon reading this story I immediately thought of my friend Sung-Jin Park. Nine months ago while attending a School of Worship in Montana USA I met Sung-Jin where we instantly became close friends. Not only that but he eventually took the place of my mentor, someone who has been genuinely interested & deeply invested in my spiritual growth as a person of faith. When he heard that I was planning on serving for a season in Daegu, South Korea (his home country), he felt that God had called him to come along with me to help with adjusting to the culture & church life. Since I arrived in South Korea, Sung-Jin has been nothing less then a selfless, humble example of Christ in my life & a present day Armor-bearer who's motivation has been "to be with me all the way".

The funny thing about this story is that the Armor-bearer doesn't get very much recognition. This reality has helped me come to the conclusion that, without the Armor-bearers in my life, I would not be where I am today. Jonathan would have been killed that day if not for his Armor-bearer. In my ministry in South Korea I tend to attract a lot of attention. People see me as a hero for being willing to leave my country and live in a completely different culture. The truth is, without the support of people like SungJin, family, friends and supporters behind the scenes, I wouldn't even be here.

In my selfish nature I tend to wish other people would be this kind of friend to me but I want to make it my goal to be an Armor-bearer friend to the people God puts in my life. To be there when it matters & support them in whatever direction they decide to go.

I just want to say thank you to all those who have invested in my life this far. You're a blessing!

"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" Galatians 6:2