An important element of an authentic faith is to have authentic relationships. We live in an age that relationships center around common activities and can remain shallow. Generally, once the activity stops, the majority of our interactions with the individuals ceases as well. It is as if we do relationships for the sake of the activity rather than doing the activity for the sake of the relationships. This makes for convenient relationships rather than committed ones.
What does the Bible say about Godly relationships?
And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. ……So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:42, 46-47
Definition of Fellowship (According to Strong’s Concordance comes from the Greek word Koinoia): association, community, communion, joint participation.
The above scriptures give us insight into Godly and successful fellowships:
First of all, a Godly fellowship is based on the scripture and what Jesus did on the cross for us. When the church was being formed following the Pentecost, people gathered around Apostle’s doctrine. This is where our common union begins. It is the foundation and the root from which relationships can develop and blossom.
Those of us who are believers are considered brothers and sisters in the Lord! The blood of Jesus has washed us all, and God has chosen to adopt every one of us into His kingdom. We will be spending eternity with each other. This truth challenges me because I must admit that I just tolerate some people. The thought of spending eternity with them, makes me realize that there must be a better way to handle Godly relationships.
Secondly, the fellowship should include partaking bread together and enjoying each other’s company as the church in Jerusalem did. Interestingly, we have forgotten the art of hospitality and entertaining people at our homes. We have bigger homes and fewer people in them. We tend to meet people at coffee shops, parks, trails, etc. While there is nothing wrong with that, it keeps us to some degree at a comfortable distance from each other. In addition, some people come to church to just be fed but have no desire to get connected to other believers and break bread with them. They are missing a big piece of being a community of believers.
Thirdly, the people in the early church were in one accord which meant they had one mind and one passion. Nowadays, we have many passions and Christ happens to just be one of them. We also have many opinions which could cause disagreements on certain topics. This causes us to keep our distance from those who don’t see things our way. If the most important thing in our lives is our relationship with Christ and His work on the cross for us, then we should be able to put our differences or preferences aside, so we can remain as one accord.
How are you doing with your Godly relationships?
I will continue with the remainder of this scripture and share a principle that sets our relationships apart from the world.
