They took fellowship seriously. Church is more than a common--interest-based social club. We're a family-birth-children of our heavenly father, blood relatives. The cross made it so. "We have all been baptized into one body by One Spirit" (1 Co 12:13 NLT).. Those early disciples valued their relationship. They "met together...shared everything they had.... sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need" (Acts 2:44-45 NLT). God's word describes members existed individually but they can only function properly in connection with one another. The members understood the need to value each other, and to sacrifice personal interest for the sake of the whole. As isolated, self-reliant, self-promoting individuals they would have been destroyed by the overwhelming force of their enemies. As a believer you may survive apart from church, but you can't thrive. Your God-given potential will never be realized until you commit wholeheartedly to a local fellowship and invest yourself in serving God's vision for that church.
No comments:
Post a Comment