Happy Fellowship

 

A church fellowship tea where each family brings a food 'offering' is the best.  Each has given something of themselves to share and so it feels happy and gives good appetites thereby producing happy chatter.  In other words, we all experience happy fellowship around the church tables.

This scenario puts me in mind of this verse from the apostle Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians. It reads,

"God, who has called you into fellowhsip with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful" (1 Corinthians 1:9 NIV).

My attention is drawn to the "called you into fellowship" part.  Just like the fellowship tea, it can be happy, because of who called.  Who was it?  It was God who called. With whom is the fellowship?  God's Son Jesus Christ our Lord.  Which attribute of God is mentioned?  God's faithfulness.

From every tribe, tongue, people and nation, God calls us.  We are individuals but He calls us into fellowship, even multiculturally.  This fellowship we may think is with each other, but read the verse again.  With whom is the fellowship?  It is with God's son Jesus Christ and so God puts us into fellowship with Him and gives us a family and a community of believers of all ethnic backgrounds.

Picture the twelve disciples traipsing about wherever Jesus went during those three years of His ministry.  So much time spent with Him.  Yes, there were spats among them because they got their focus averted, but eventually they refocused.

The most endearing, most poignant time of fellowship with Jesus pre-cross was the last night, I think.  Peek into that Upper Room at their Passover Feast dinner.  "The Last Supper," we like to call it.

In Leonardo da Vinci's depiction of this 'Last Supper' we see the disciples and Jesus all lined up along the side of a long rectangular-shaped table.  In Jesus' day they acutally sat more in a 'U'-shape with the host at the 'bottom' of the 'U' and then the guests would fill in spots on either side of the host.  In my estimation, everyone could see everyone else better and they could have better fellowship that way.

A line of the Communion Hymn written by Stuart Townsend, sings, 

"Around the table of the King".

It is so sweet and happy to be in fellowship with King Jesus.  He brought us, His followers, together.  Together, not just for physical food but for spiritual and for service together, for Him.  Let's keep our focus on Jesus, and so have happy fellowhip.

God is faithful and will not let us down.  He called us into this fellowship and so we can know it will be sure and steadfast when we keep our focus on Jesus around whom we are gathered.

Abba Father, it is so wonderful to be in fellowship with Your Son Jesus.  You brought us into this relationship with Him and inot a family of Your children.  Thank You for being faithful to us no matter how much mess we may make of it.  Restore us again and again like you did for Peter of old, and even when James and John's mother wanted favored places for her sons around the Table of King Jesus, and created jealousies among the others, You restored the peace and harmony.  Help us too.  Thank You for the times we do have happy fellowship. 

We give You our thanks in Your Son Jesus' name, around whom we have happy fellowship. Amen.

                                                       ~ERC  October 2023~

Based on 1 Corinthians 1:9 NIV.

Sing, Communion Hymn, along with Stuart Townsend and Keith and Kristyn Getty.