Last week I shared the first half of the communion devotion given at my church. As promised, this week I am writing about the other half of fellowship. Just as a brief reminder, wounded soldiers that I served with always asked the same two questions. They asked, “Can I stay in the Army?” and “When can I get back to my unit?” They yearned for fellowship with their comrades who had shared their struggles and experiences in common battles. What gave young men and women who had suffered severe, life altering injuries the drive to want to return to the battle?
All of us are engaged in a spiritual war. Just read Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (Ephesians 6: 10-18). We have all been wounded in our souls by sin. We seek camaraderie from others with whom we can relate. Why isn’t that source of companionship the church?
Fellowship flows in two directions. We seek fellowship with others and our fellowship is sought by others. Jesus Christ yearns for our fellowship as much as we desire it, need it from someone. John wrote in 1 John 4: 9-10, “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” While we seek to have fellowship with the LORD and fellow believers, He is seeking to have fellowship with us.
One of my goals when returning to Washington, DC was to learn what the doctors were doing to these soldiers which resulted in such commitment and positive attitudes. I had the opportunity to talk with a doctor from Walter Reed. He said that the medical professionals really didn’t do too much. In fact these wonderful doctors, nurses and therapists are remarkable. They can operate on these broken bodies. Fit them with prosthetics. Help the soldiers regain the use of their bodies through physical and mental therapy. However, this doctor said the main thing that gave the wounded such position outlooks was the outpouring of caring they received from the soldiers in their units. Your see, not only did the wounded soldiers want to get back to their units, but their units wanted them back too! That is the real secret.
When our souls are wounded and we want God, He wants us too. When we want fellowship with fellow believers, we need to know that they want us too. Yes, fellowship is a two way street. It works when I want to be with you and you want me to be with you.
John 17: 18-23 “As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth. I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me. Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”
In His Grace,
Dan
