During this last year for me, the worst thing about all of this pandemic has been a word called fellowship.
But you say that I believe the church is not about meetings, it is about fellowship! Now of course as a church we have fellowship on Zoom, but you must agree it is nowhere near the type of fellowship that I believe God had intended when he created the church.
Yes, I believe God created Church and I believe he did it for a specific reason – that followers of Jesus might get together and share their experiences about what’s going on in their lives, be encouraged and be with like-minded people.
In fact, there is a verse in the Bible that says at the very beginning of church life the people got together, they broke bread which is really having communion, they worshipped, they read the word of God and they enjoyed each other’s company
They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.
Acts 2:42 The Message
It is the same with my relationship with God. God wants to have fellowship. He doesn’t want to be distant. He wants to be involved in our lives. He created us to have fellowship with him.
The Bible informs us that there are two dimensions to the Christian life. There is first and foremost the vertical dimension, the relationship that has now been established between the believer and God by the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross of Calvary.
The apostle John (in 1 John 1:3) tells us that when we receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior we are brought into fellowship, not only with the Father but also with all fellow believers who likewise belong to the family of God which is the horizontal.
If you are God’s child and He is the Father of all, what does this tell you about your relationship with other believers?
So what is fellowship?
Fellowship is derived from the Greek word “koinonia” which means “sharing in common.” God has given you much to share. As you examine the verses below, determine what you can share with others and one practical way to share it. 1 John 4:11,21, Galatians 6:1 Galatians 6:6, James 5:16.
I hope like me, if you are following Jesus, you are missing this fellowship? So let’s encourage ourselves to know that we may not be able to have that same fellowship on Zoom or any other media platform, but it does not mean to say that we should not take advantage of what is available to us. I am so grateful for Zoom, especially on Tuesdays when we have an opportunity to share. But let’s look forward to the day when the restrictions are lifted and it is safe to meet so we can experience fellowship once again. But even more, hopefully, appreciate each other a lot more than we did before lockdown.
Finally take time to answer these questions, please.
- Why is fellowship important to you?
- In what ways do you believe home groups help to achieve fellowship?
Finally, prepare yourself for the return of church by asking how can I use my gift(s) when we return? God describes us as a body, each member having different gifts to bring and that when these are brought together they should work as a unit.
What will I do differently to enhance fellowship?
Stay Safe and Blessed