Thursday, 3/12/20 – Discipleship – Fellowship

Fellowship & the Virus

With the Coronavirus (COVID-19) threat spreading the globe some governments are beginning to ban large assemblies. Some pastor friends and I were chatting about this earlier this week. Several ideas were put forward: smaller house gatherings, online church services, providing support for quarantined persons…

Fundamental to all these external responses is every believer’s responsibility to “encourage one another” to rest in Christ. A heart at rest in Christ can rest whatever results: protection, healing, provision, or if it must be, even through suffering or death. Panic need not be the believer’s response. Remember as Paul wrote,

“…that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:38-39).

In times like these fellowship among believers is most important, in whatever size gatherings it is accomplished. We are all sometimes ‘up,’ sometimes ‘down.’ When one is filled with hope that person can help lift another. Then, when that person wavers into worrisomeness, another can be the encourager. The church of God is a reciprocating Body, each part caring for the other. Each part pointing to the ‘Head’ Who brings all things to perspective.

“The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’ …there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” (1 Cor. 12:21, 25-26).

You have a gift to share just by being with your brother or sister, and they have a gift to share with you!

Press on…

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