Altar
Call – Opelika-Auburn News
Walter
Albritton
February
9, 2014
Everybody needs to
belong to a fellowship
One of the best books I have ever read
is titled Life Together, a Christian
classic written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. In the book the famous German martyr
explains beautifully the true nature of the church as a “fellowship of
believers.”
The church exists in the world to meet
a universal human need, the need to belong. There is a strange line in an old
song that says: “People who need people are the luckiest people in the world.” I
say strange because the truth is, all people need people because life has
little meaning without fellowship.
Everyone needs fellowship. So there
are two kinds of people: people who realize they need people and people who
refuse to admit they need people.
There are words that conjure up good
feelings for most of us: comradeship, companions, camaraderie, friendship and
partnership. On the other hand there are words that create a feeling of
sadness: alone, confined, solitary, friendless, introverted, unsociable, aloof,
cold and hostile.
The first set of words suggests a life
of joy and meaning. The last set pictures a life that none of us wants to live.
That is because we are made for fellowship. Fulfillment comes through
fellowship with likeminded persons.
I have done many things alone and gone
many places by myself. But my most treasured memories are times I shared life
with my wife, my family or my friends. Alone my life is empty. I need to share
life with others. I need people. We all
do.
And that is what the church is at its
best – a fellowship, a loving, redemptive fellowship. The authentic church is a
gathering of friends who care about each other and who come together to worship
and praise God.
Church is not meant to be a place where
people are mean to one another. That ruins it. Church is meant to be a
fellowship where people, despite their weaknesses, may love and be loved. At
its best it is a fellowship in which flawed people are accepted despite their
flaws.
That fellowship is important is not
surprising when you consider that we were made by a “fellowship.” In the Book
of Genesis, God says, “Let us make man in our
image.” Our image – what does that mean? It means what the church calls the
Trinity. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit created us. God
is One, but He is three in one, thus the word “our.”
Some people find meaningful fellowship
in a bar or tavern. There they find acceptance by people who care for them.
Such caring makes a difference. When the church is truly a loving fellowship of
believers, people are able to live in an atmosphere of forgiveness. Since we
are all flawed, the fellowship of the church is not perfect. Because we have
been forgiven in spite of our sins, we can forgive others in spite of their
sins. To feel accepted despite our shortcomings is unspeakable joy.
The true church offers more than
fellowship with people; it provides a fellowship with the Father, the Son and
the Holy Spirit. God promises even more – a fellowship that extends into
eternity, lasting forever. And that is why Christians can joyfully sing – “What
a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms.” Since we are
made for fellowship with each other, and with God, we should be careful to
cherish it – and to invite others to share it with us. + + +