There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. – Galatians 3:28 (NIV)
They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers. – Acts 2:42 (MSG)
I have been thinking a lot about fellowship lately. This is no surprise this time of year with the number of gatherings that take place. The dictionary defines fellowship as “a community of interest or experience” and “a company of equals or friends”.
Today, I was reminded that you can be at a party or gathering and not have fellowship. Certainly you can be at a gathering and not have Christian fellowship. I say this because I returned from a lunch with some ladies with a sense of refreshing. What struck me is that none of these women are people I “hang out” with (though I certainly am not opposed to that), and I don’t know any of these women like I know my close friends. Not being a talker, I didn’t say much and not a whole lot what directed specifically to me, yet I felt encouraged and refreshed. Why?
I think we had fellowship because we were bound together by Christ. We were equals because we each recognized that we were on a journey together even though our lives take us different places. The message translates fellowship as living life together. I love this because I believe, in Christ, we can live life together even if we are separated by location and life experience.
How I long for each of us, and the entire world, to know this kind of sweet, rich fellowship. It is a fellowship where masks, if they are worn at all, become thin and guards are let down because we all know and share the unsurpassed love of Christ.