CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
Christian Fellowship
Two weeks ago we had a wonderful time at Creekside. We started off with a message to our young people reminding them of their importance to our church. We searched the Scriptures to find that our young people aren’t just important as the future of our church but they are important now. Their time of service is to be right now, not simply some distant, undefined time in the future. At the end of the service I called about 20 young people down and gave each of them a polished rock to remind them to be solid in their faith and the work of the Lord.
After church we had a potluck and then proceeded to our home where we had a baptism service. There were approximately 100 people that attended the baptism with 10 individuals being baptized. It was a great day for those who desired to make a public testimony that they had accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior and desire to dedicate their lives to His service. After the baptism service we just sat around and enjoyed fellowshipping with each other. As I said, it was a great day.
This brings me to the topic of my blog today, Christian fellowship. What exactly is Christian fellowship and why is it important? The Greek word that is used in the New Testament for fellowship means a partnership between Christians that is mutually beneficial. While we can and do have fellowship with those who are not Christians the fellowship with other Christians is intended to be on a deeper and more beneficial level. True Christian fellowship can only occur with others who are in the Body of Christ and is based upon our relationship with Jesus. John explains this relationship in John 17:22-23,
“And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”
Christian fellowship is possible because God, through His grace, has enabled it. In Jesus’ prayer He says that through faith we have been made one, one with Him, one with the Father, and one with each other. Being made perfect in one means that just as Jesus has perfect unity with the Father we also can have perfect unity with each other as Christians.
But why is Christian Fellowship important? Christian fellowship is important because, due to our faith, we are united by our goals, beliefs, and our calling in life. We can intimately know the struggles and trials Christians face as well as the triumphs and victories. We can support each other in our time of need through our prayers, and we can love each other with the unfeigned love that Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians 6:6 and Peter mentions in 1 Peter 1:22.
As we look at the troubles of the world around us we can see the need of true Christian fellowship. We need each other, we need to spend time together, we need cry together, and we need to laugh together. My call to you today is to plan some time to fellowship with another Christian. Pick up the phone, give a Christian friend a call, and plan to do something together.