It’s easy to be a Christian when it means dressing up on Sundays and going to a beautiful sanctuary and hearing beautiful music and not much else. It’s easy to follow Christ when that’s the socially acceptable thing to do, and when there’s no danger involved.

But what about now, when we can’t go to church at all? What about in places where converting to Christianity or even being a Christian is illegal? That’s the situation in many countries dominated by communism or Islam. What about when the culture around you changes, and all of a sudden everything the Bible has taught about marriage and family issues for thousands of years has become odious to your neighbors? That’s the situation in many large American cities. How easy is it to obey God’s will when it means risking friends or career opportunities or personal safety or even life itself?

That’s the situation that faced the brave men mentioned in I Chronicles chapter 12, for they all took David’s side even while King Saul was still trying to kill him. They stood with David, even before David had any ability to provide for them or protect them. And these men didn’t have any close kinship ties to David, who was from the tribe of Judah. Some came from the tribe of Manasseh, well to the north (v. 19). Some from the tribe of Gad (v. 8) came from all the way on the east side of the Jordan River, fierce warriors of whom the “least was equal to a hundred.”

Perhaps most amazing were those who came from the tribe of Benjamin, for that was the tribe to which King Saul belonged. They thus chose David over one of their own kinsmen. And they were of great value to David during the time he had to carry on a guerilla war – in fact, they could use a slingshot or a bow with either hand (v. 2).

But all these men joined David’s army before he was crowned. They took his side when the chips were down, when they had nothing to gain and everything to lose. As such, they provide a powerful example for us today. Will we stick with Jesus even when things aren’t going our way, even when we suffer, even when others think we’re strange or wicked or crazy? After all, He went through all that for us.

I Chronicles 12:1-15 (NASB)

Now these are the ones who came to David at Ziklag, while he was still restricted because of Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men who helped him in war.
2 They were equipped with bows, using both the right hand and the left to sling stones and to shoot arrows from the bow; they were Saul’s kinsmen from Benjamin.
3 The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite; and Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth, and Beracah and Jehu the Anathothite,
4 and Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the thirty, and over the thirty. Then Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad the Gederathite,
5 Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, Shephatiah the Haruphite,
6 Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, Jashobeam, the Korahites,
7 and Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham of Gedor.
8 And from the Gadites there came over to David in the stronghold in the wilderness, mighty men of valor, men trained for war, who could handle shield and spear, and whose faces were like the faces of lions, and they were as swift as the gazelles on the mountains.
9 Ezer was the first, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third,
10 Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth,
11 Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh,
12 Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth,
13 Jeremiah the tenth, Machbannai the eleventh.
14 These of the sons of Gad were captains of the army; he who was least was equal to a hundred and the greatest to a thousand.
15 These are the ones who crossed the Jordan in the first month when it was overflowing all its banks and they put to flight all those in the valleys, both to the east and to the west.