Anybody who has been to the movies, lately, is familiar with the little character that comes out and "shushes" you before the movie begins. I think there is a message that flashes across the screen saying "Silence is Golden." One of the most annoying things to have to deal with at a movie theater are people talking, whether to the movie or to each other. And let us not forget about the cell phones going off or being opened, revealing the bright light, while someone is texting away. You often think to yourself, "What are they here for if all they are going to do is not pay attention to the movie?" The point I am trying to make is that a movie theater, no matter how filled to capacity it is, is not the place for fellowship to be going on. With that thought in mind, I stumbled across something a friend of mine wrote on her blog that I thought to be interesting. She writes:
"But I have a confession to make. Even though my spirit yearns for true sincere fellowship, it just doesn't seem to be finding me. Some of the relationships I've had with other believers were well........somewhat disappointing. Now of course I know these thoughts are of the flesh, but I can't help but wonder WHY!!! Why do people of the faith keep each other at a distance? Why do people of the faith only want relationships that touch the surface of life. And why can't we just see each other according to the spirit, instead of judging people by their faults?"
I happen to share many of her sentiments about fellowship. Recently, I was in a discussion with another Christian who was defending the normal church experience as fellowship. Think about it, though. What is the normal church experience like? Is it not filing in to the sanctuary, moments before it begins, saying a few pleasantries to those in attendance, finding a seat and getting settled in for the message? One to two hours later, we get up, say our goodbyes and shuffle off to our corner of the world until the next week. Now, I am being general in my description, but I think it safe to assume many of you are familiar with what I am saying. Well, unlike the lady I was speaking to on the subject, I don't believe this is fellowship. Yes, we can quibble back and forth about what exactly the true definition is, if any, but I don't see this experience being any different than sitting in a theater with a bunch of strangers watching a movie.
"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." Acts 2:42-47
When we go to movie, we are not there to talk to each other about our lives. We are their to watch the movie. Similarly, when we attend church, we are not their to talk to each other, but to hear the message. However, scripture talks about something totally different when it mentions fellowship. Fellowship is something done on a daily basis with like-minded believers. I could imagine that the bonds that were built during these times lasted a lifetime, and dare I say, an eternity. Meeting together on a daily basis forces us into each others lives. We, in turn, start to get to know each other on a personal level. We begin to share our likes, dislikes, loves, hurts, struggles and accomplishments with each other. This is how trust begins to form and we let down our guards we put up at church on Sunday. Part of the problem my friend is encountering I believe stems from this lack of intimacy among brethren. One of the most damaging things that has occurred to the faith stems from the modern church experience. We have learned to become superficial and phony in our Christian experience. There is a tendency to act as though we have it all together. Therefore, we put up false fronts for a few hours not truly desiring to let anybody into our inner circle to really see who we are. The result is we keep each other at a distance for fear of getting too close.
"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with 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 purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Phillipians 2:1-4
It is next to impossible to encourage one another in the faith if we only see each other a couple hours a week and interact with each other even less. How do you look out for the interests of others when you don't know them well enough to even know what they are dealing with? You cannot. If you are anything like me, when I used go to church it was just to get some encouragement for myself. I prayed that the message that day would somehow be directed at me and would change my life. I was not concerned much about the problems of others, much less allowing time to even inquire about them. However, when we are secure in the love, grace and forgiveness we have in Christ, we are comfortable enough to seek out others in an effort to share what we have with them. We all know from experience that it takes time before we feel secure enough to unload our deepest feelings with another person. And those relationships are created through consistent and meaningful fellowships. Think back to the friends you had growing up. You shared each others burdens and confided in each other because you developed a trusting bond through shared experiences and always being around one another. That is the same with any relationship. In Christ, we have a common faith in which to build from that can tear down walls and build up love and trust with each other.
"See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first." Hebrews 3:12-14
Many of us will try and study the Bible each day whether through a study, reading books on our faith, getting a daily devotion emailed to us or a variety of other ways. We do this because we want to continue to grow in our faith and stay sharp on the truths we have already learned. That being the case, it stands to reason that daily fellowship will help us break through the superficial relationships we forge at church. We eat daily. We bathe daily. We sleep daily. We do so because not doing it will lead to many health issues and eventually to our demise. If we don't cultivate sincere relationships amongst our fellow brethren our faith will suffer as well. In fact, we run the risk of isolating ourselves. Personally, I don't really fellowship with my old friends. Many of them are unbelievers and we don't have much in common anymore. The only alternative is to find relationships from within the Body of Christ. But, if we don't take the time to find these relationships how on earth do we encourage one another "daily" as scripture teaches? I bet nobody could tell you who they sat next to at the last movie they went to see. And I would also bet that very few of us could tell you the name of the person who sat next to us at church last week. And if we could it is probably because we came with them. If we want sincere and meaningful relationships with other believers, we need to make the effort to create them. Start a Bible Study, invite someone over for lunch, exchange numbers, ask them a question about the faith (instead of just the pastor), strike up a conversation about the message, anything. We need each other now and for all time.
No comments:
Post a Comment