Building Block #5: Fellowship

When I was a kid, the only people who used the word "fellowship" were Church folks!

We thought "fellowship" was about potluck dinners and getting together for church parties! And while those certainly play a part in "fellowship", there is much more to it than that!

This word ties in closely with our last Blog: Attend. It is very difficult to have close fellowship with one another when we are not Together! God has designed us as Christians to walk this journey with our companions! The Psalmist writes, "But it was you, a man my equal. My companion and my acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked to the house of God in the throng." (Psalms 55:13-14). Sadly, this Psalm is actually describing the heartbreak David felt when that fellowship was betrayed! Betrayal can only come when something valuable has been cast aside and a close friendship of trust has been broken. That is the risk of genuine fellowship: it can be broken. But there is also a great reward in developing such closeness!

John wrote about it in I John 1:3, 6-7: "That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ....If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin."

Our world is looking for fellowship: that's why people go to parties and bars; sign up for Facebook, Instagram and Snap Chat: they are looking for a place where they matter, they are accepted, and where what they do is significant! We all want to be important to someone!

True Fellowship is only found in our honest relationship and acceptance by Jesus Christ. When we are "Walking in the Light", we are connected to God and become our best selves! And we are drawn to others who have the same desires and intention to serve Him! Our mutual bond with Christ automatically draws us to each other. Acts 2:42 says, "they continued in the Apostle's Doctrine and Fellowship, in the Breaking of Bread and in Prayers: in the Temple (Church) and from HOUSE TO HOUSE. It was consistent, personal and deep!

Paul told the Thessalonians that "they exhorted, comforted and charged every one of them, as a Father does his own children." I Thessalonians 2:1. This kind of genuine fellowship is rare but so needed! It allows us to share honestly with others, encouraging them when they are struggling, comforting them when they are weak, challenging them when they are getting sidetracked, and listening to them when they need a friend. And it is allowing them the privilege of doing the same for us!

God's best design for Fellowship is found in our Relationship with Him and with other Christians in a Local Church. Once you have given your heart to Christ, you WILL begin to have Fellowship with Him. After you have surrendered to Him, your next key step is to connect with your brothers and sisters in a Local Congregation to experience True Fellowship.