THE BASIS FOR REAL CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
1 John 1:1,3 (NIV 1984) That … which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched–this we proclaim … so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
As church folks we may feel we have a good handle on what it means to have fellowship. We greet one another, have potlucks, or go out to eat with others after services. We have church socials, small groups, events, and even sing and take communion together. Oh, and churches do have donuts now on Sundays mornings. What a blessing the modern age has brought! Add some good coffee, and I emphasize good, and poof! Fellowship is born. Not really! Fellowship is so much more. It is a strong, deeply connected community that shares something intimate and common, something even good coffee can’t do. The connection is more intricate than scheduling events and participating in common activities. Country clubs and civic organizations do that. Some people feel connected when they can drink beer or smoke a joint together. Even groups of people we consider living sinful lifestyles can share in deeply connected community. In fact, a friend of mine who is a former lesbian tells about the strong sense of community she used to feel among her gay friends. So what sets Christian community apart from all this? What sets us apart from clubs, donuts, coffee, beer, and sexual sin? What creates that deep sense of intimate fellowship among Christians, where what they share in common ties them together stronger than even bloodlines do? John tells us. Encounter! He lists off some of the sensory ways that they have encountered Jesus. They heard Him. They saw Him. They looked at Him. Looking is more than seeing. Looking is intentional! They touched Him. This was all in the natural. John literally walked with Jesus, listened to His words, and often reclined at the table with Him, at least once even leaning up against Him (Jn 13:23-25). This was intimate encounter with the Jesus; and that encounter brought a fellowship with the Father and the Son that transformed His life. The natural response? He told others so they could have it too.
My friend who left a lesbian lifestyle for Christ tells of how she began to have many intimate encounters with Jesus before she left her lesbian lifestyle. Let that sink in! God sometimes works in ways that challenge my theology, and this doesn’t fit my theological frame work, but it is her story. She was encountering the presence of Jesus in worship, in church gatherings, and I’m assuming alone as well. This was not some mystical, New Age thing; she was seeking the Jesus of the Bible, and He was showing up to her personally, all while she was still a practicing lesbian. Nevertheless, she began to notice something. When she engaged in her gay lifestyle she would feel the presence of Jesus wane; and this began to bother her. She inquired of the Lord, and His response was clear. She could have His presence or her gay lifestyle, but she couldn’t have both. This was a hard word, and the real gospel. Her identity was tied-up in that lifestyle. She actually had graduated from a liberal seminary where she studied and ministered a gay-affirming theology. Not only was Jesus asking her to give up her sexual preferences, he was asking her to give up the very core of where she was finding her identity. As she explains in her testimony, she was so enamored with His presence that she did not want to live without it. She chose Christ! Her journey out of that lifestyle is a wonderful story, as God began to restore her identity, femininity, and her sexuality. Her husband is a friend of mine as well.
The crux of Christian fellowship is common encounter with Jesus. When we encounter Jesus, both initially and subsequently, we fellowship with Him. Our fellowship with Him draws us into intimate connection with others who have had the same encounter. There are other things that bind us together, such as common causes, doctrine, and similar callings, but nothing joins us together like common encounter with Christ. You can feel it. A religious church-goer may not have it. When you meet someone who has a common encounter with Christ, you can see it on their countenance. You can hear it in their words. They bear the mark of fellowship with the Father and the Son; and that connects them in fellowship with us. Oh how wonderful it is to be among the saints of God. May we tell of what we have seen, heard, looked at, and touched, so that those who hear may believe and have fellowship Him, and with us. This is the Christian mission, and it will make our joy complete (1 Jn 1:4).
