bits from bob....

Focus on Fellowship

by Robert J. Young
©, 2001, Robert J. Young
[permission is given to reprint with credit noted]

At the very heart of fellowship is the concept of sharing. That is why the Greek word koinonia is translated by words like communication, communion, distribution, contribution, and fellowship.

The way a Christian lives indicates what kind of God he serves. It also indicates his awareness of what God has done in saving him. It is in our lives that Christ is either proclaimed or denied. Is your life a life of sharing? Are you generous with what God gives you? Do you share your faith with others in declaring to them the Christ? Do you share with your brothers and sisters in Christ your mutual faith? Do you share your life in encouraging, edifying, and concern?

For us to share lives, four things must be present. Great fellowship among the people of God cannot occur where these are absent. The fellowship we share will be better when we add these to our lives and cultivate them in our relationships.

• First, we must have quality in our personal devotional lives. We must pray frequently, we must read God's Word regularly, and our relationship with God must be the fiber and fabric of our lives.
• Second, we must have an understanding of the gospel as the power of God to salvation that empowers us in our desire to share it with others.
• Third, we must have a meaningful relationship in the body of Christ. We must derive strength and instruction from the head and we must be vitally related to the other parts of the body.
• Finally, we must depend upon God's power. We are mere vessels of God to whom the gospel has been entrusted. Whatever happens through our lives will be of God, and not of self.

Evaluation time. Are you a sharing person? Are we a sharing church? Until there is a resounding affirmative answer, genuine fellowship will suffer. Let's strive to be the body God desires us to be. A great step toward that goal will be the presence of every member of the body at every activity, so we might share our common dedication to the Lord. The body without every member working is crippled and sickly, and has failed to understand and demonstrate the oneness that is ours. Will you help us demonstrate our oneness, not only as we assemble for worship, but as we strive to experience meaningful fellowship and sharing in the rhythms of life?