Fellowship

Robert W. Cossin wrote this article which appeared in the September 15, 1971 edition of "The Bible Herald", published by the Bible Herald Corporation in Parkersburg, West Virginia.

At each worship service we as Christians extend a warm welcome to show our visitors and brethren how much we appreciate them. Often, the impression we give is that we are the most hospitable people in the community. Our actions project the kind of person we would like to be and should be as Christians.

Nevertheless, on Monday morning many Christians revert to their former daily habits and keep to themselves. What hinders brethren from visiting with fellow Christians outside of the worship service? Apparently, they lack love for fellow Christians. Let us remember what Christ said, "A new commandment I give to you that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another" (John 13:34). We cannot hope to possess this affection when only a few hours a week are spent in close association with each other.

Most of us spend more time seeking the advice of and confessing our faults to our neighbors or business associates than we do our brethren. Think for a moment. An individual devotes approximately eight hours per day working and communing with non-Christians subjected to filthy language and criticism. At home, approximately six hours are spent watching TV, reading the newspaper, playing with hobbies or just relaxing. This leaves Saturday which is most likely filled with neglected chores from the past week. What time is left for Christians? Approximately five hours.

If a congregation is to be strong and grow, it must be a close knit family. We are the family of Christ and when a member of a family decides to go his own way, that home is soon divided. One reason many fall away is that they lack love for their brethren. Many lack love because they fail to have fellowship with one another. The purpose of fellowship is to strengthen one another in faith and in the knowledge of Christ. It also provides an opportunity for confessing our faults and discussing our problems. After all, who is more qualified to give us spiritual advice than a fellow Christian? In James 5:16 we are told to confide in one another.

The early church provides an example of how often we should be together. Acts 2:46 points out that Christians enjoyed fellowship daily. If we practiced what the early Christians did, imagine what the church, country and the world would be like today. We might avoid much of the division, immorality, war and conflict that surrounds us today. Truly, we can see from the scriptures that the church and the early Christians were confronted with the same kinds of problems we have today. However, because of their love and concern for one another, they ministered and comforted those who were in need of help. By not fellowshipping daily, how can we possibly know the needs of our brothers and sisters?

We certainly do not want a generation gap in the church, as supposedly exists in the world today. One way to avoid a gap between members is to get together more often. Too many times we form cliques and exclude others. The teenagers are in one group; the young adults are in another then, there's the older group. How long has it been since we invited an older member over for dinner? How long has it been since we dropped in for a few minutes to visit with the teenagers or a young couple? Often we have the attitude, "Well, I don't know what to say to them. We just don't have anything in common." Have we thought about Jesus? The apostle Paul explains in Ephesians that we have much in common; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one Spirit and one Father in Heaven.