What we have that the world longs for

In the last post we looked at the first of the four things mentioned in Acts 2:42, namely the apostles' doctrine.

The second of these is fellowship.  The Greek word koinonia has connotations of intimacy, of community, of communication.  What does it look like in the context of simple church?  It means a willingness for transparency and vulnerability; it means knowing each other well enough that you can tell if there's a problem in someone's life without their needing to say a word; it means letting down the masks; it means laughing with those who laugh and weeping with those who weep. Its a group of people who know each others' weaknesses and love one another anyway!

The world is longing for this.  Most people, especially after they have entered the workforce, go to work in the morning, come home and watch television in the evenings. On the weekends, they struggle to catch up with all that needs doing.   Their lives are consumed with work and their kids' activities.  They are often lonely, and feel stressed because they have no one with whom to share the things going on in their lives.  (Statistics show that sharing life with a friend is often as effective as seeing a counselor.)

Fellowship isn't limited to meetings.  It's a community lifestyle

Do we have real fellowship when we come together?