The Importance of Fellowship

A warm fire

“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,  then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.” (Philippians 2:1-2 N.I.V)

There is comfort and encouragement in Christ which is heightened by fellowship with other Christians. It is difficult to stand alone. We need other like minded people to travel alongside us so that we can support one another; keep the fire of Christ burning.  A story entitled “The Silent Sermon” illustrates this:

"A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going.  After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire.  Guessing the reason for his pastor's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited.
The pastor made himself at home but said nothing.  In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs.  After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone then he sat back in his chair, still silent.
The host watched all this in quiet contemplation.  As the one lone ember's flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more.  Soon it was cold and dead.
Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting.  The pastor glanced at his watch and realized it was time to leave.  He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire.  Immediately it began to glow, once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.
As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said with a tear running down his cheek, ’Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I will be back in church next Sunday".

Don't lose touch, otherwise your fire may go down.
*****

"The primary joy of life is acceptance, approval, the sense of appreciation and companionship of our human comrades. Many men do not understand that the need for fellowship is really as deep as the need for food, and so they go through life accepting many substitutes for the genuine, warm, and simple.” ~Joshua Loth Liebman

*****