Fellowship

Scripture Reading: Luke 7:34-48, Acts 2:42-47, Romans 14:13-23, 1 Corinthians 12:12-26, 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, Hebrews 10:24-25

A few years ago, I was in a worship service at a church my friend pastors. We were singing one of my favorite songs when the worship leader paused in the middle of the song and spoke about the importance of community in the Christian life. He read a few verses of Scripture that highlight the emphasis of living the Christian life as a people, not as individuals. 

What he did next is the reason I remember this moment. The song we were singing had a lot of first-person singular language in it. “I love you, Lord.” He asked us to change every instance of first-person singular into first-person plural. “We love you, Lord.” What struck me was how this shifted the way I thought about myself and everyone else in the room. It was a simple but palpable reminder that while our discipleship to Jesus is personal, it is not private. 

The passages in our reading today have that kind of effect on me with respect to spiritual disciplines. When I think of prayer, study, fasting, and the practices of faith in general, I naturally think of them as what I do all alone with God. Those images and habits are very first-person singular. Like many of you, I am following Jesus in a cultural moment that often values individualism over others-centered community. All this to say: I needed this reminder from the scriptures today.

You’ve probably noticed how many of these passages focus on how to have healthy fellowship. Paul wrote, “Therefore, let us no longer judge one another. Instead decide never to put a stumbling block or pitfall in the way of your brother or sister” (Romans 14:13). 

God’s Word does not pretend that life together is easy or free of conflict. Any time a group of humans gather, they bring their sinful hearts with them—hearts that want credit or preference, hearts that are quick to judge or to be uncharitable. This is part of what makes fellowship a discipline. It is one of the ways God uses His Church to make us look more like Jesus. When I just sing the “I” and I don’t think about the “we,” my selfishness, pride, and self-conceit can go unconfronted and create fertile soil for sin to grow in my heart. By God’s design, those can be starved when we fellowship with one another around the table of God’s goodness and grace. 

Fellowship does not just confront our sin and selfishness; it also magnifies the beauty of God’s work in our lives. Imagine how differently Acts 2:42–47 would feel if it was just describing an individual Christian! The real beauty is in the life of the community. There is something of the goodness of God and the work of the gospel that we only experience when we are together. 

Join me in praying that God would give us hearts that faithfully pursue the “we” in our life together with Jesus.

Written by Jamin Roller