BEING PART OF GOD’S FAMILY IS THE WAY GOD PLANNED IT
In our never-ending quest to understand why we exist, the missing piece of the puzzle often leads to a single answer: our connection to others within the community of God’s people.This week, we’re taking a look into the world of Christian fellowship to uncover its central role in our lives and faith.
Genesis 2:18 sets the stage, emphasizing that we are not meant to be alone. “The Lord God said, “It is not good for man to be alone.” The need for authentic relationships with one another is how God intended it from the beginning when he created Adam and Eve, and it still is today. It’s all about having real, meaningful connections with other people; it’s a fundamental part of what it means to be human.
Christian Community is All About Jesus
Christian community isn’t your average hangout. It’s all about putting Jesus at the center whenever you’re together. In 1 John 1:11 he spells it out in two ways: You’ve got to have a connection with God before you can truly connect with your fellow believers. It’s not just about gathering with church buddies; it’s about having Jesus as the glue that holds you all together.
You see, Christian fellowship isn’t just about getting together with your Christian friends. No, it’s about staying on the same page as Jesus. It sets true Christian fellowship apart from gatherings formed around shared hobbies, like comic cons, sports, politics, or knitting. Not that there’s anything wrong with those – they’re fun too! But, it is impossible to have Christian fellowship without Christ. Even if it’s Christians hanging out. That doesn’t make it Christian fellowship unless Jesus is present.
The Bible has this cool list of “one another” commands that tells us what fellowship should look like. Think of it as the Christian way of relating to each other. It’s all about encouragement, showing love through hospitality, confessing when you mess up, enduring each other’s quirks with love, and more. It’s about keeping Jesus at the core of your relationships.
CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY IS ALWAYS DEFINED BY LOVE
Now, here’s John’s second big point: love. John hammers it home in 1 John 4:19-21. He says, “19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.” Loving your fellow Christians isn’t an option; it’s a must. He says you can’t claim to love God if you can’t stand your fellow believers.
Loving your church buddies isn’t all about feelings you keep inside. It’s about taking action like it talks about in 1 Corinthians 13:4-6.
Sure, it’s not always easy to love others. People can be messy, we’ve all been burned by other folks, but isolation isn’t the solution. We still need to let people into our lives. Why? Because without community and real relationships, we are missing the main ingredient, after God, that leads to true fulfillment.
God created us to thrive in community. The church is the ultimate playground for this idea. Genesis 2:18 reminds us that it’s “not good for man to be alone.” So don’t ditch fellowship. Join a church community, get into small groups, and share life with others. That’s how you’ll truly experience the fullness of life God has in store for you – in the company of others.