Fellowship is an essential activity missing in the lives of many Christians. Fellowship is essential because God designed 'the Christian walk' to make it necessary. Fellowship begins with recognizing that a believer is in a relationship (a fellowship) with God. See I John 1:
Since the Spirit of Jesus lives inside other believers just like he does you, spending time with other Christians draws you near to God and his work. And often, fellowship and service to God blend naturally together...serving elderly neighbors together with another Christian or two allows both service and an opportunity to share spiritual journeys together.
Like prayer, the best way to learn and value fellowship is to spend quality time with other Christians. This is time dedicated to sharing concerns and problems, time to encourage one another spiritually, and time to be relaxed together and share a common lifestyle formed from common beliefs.
The resources listed below on Fellowship will help form an understanding of this essential activity.
The Good News Is...
The words we speak communicate the deep thoughts of our hearts. Those above are spoken by Jesus, and they communicate His deep desire to have a friendship with you and me.
Many might mistakenly respond with, “Well, that’s impossible. I have done too many things wrong. I’m a sinner and Jesus would never want a relationship with me.” Wrong. Let me quickly remind you that Jesus ate and drank with sinners. He often received abuse from the religious crowd for such behavior. When attacked for dining with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus responded,
Don’t be uncertain about Jesus’ desire to establish a relationship with you.
What does Jesus say in the above? He says “Look!” It is as though He is saying, “Don’t you see? I didn’t come into the world to condemn you; I came into the world to save you from sin and evil and to establish a friendship.” Then to give even greater emphasis to this, Jesus says, “I stand at the door and knock.”
Now, this sounds like a friend to me. A friend doesn’t barge in. But a friend does stand patiently waiting for the opportunity to provide a need after receiving the invitation to come in. Jesus’ promise to “come in and share a meal together” reveals the extent of the friendship He wants to establish—a friendship of quality time together. Isn’t it around dinner that we spend quality time with friends and family?
Well, where does that leave you and Jesus? He is either outside saying, “Look!”, or He is inside spending quality time with you as your friend. If Jesus is outside, He needs to be invited into your life. Open the door!
This is a simple act. The Bible describes it as “calling on the name of the Lord.”
“Jesus, come into my life and be my friend.”