On Labor Day, an old friend invited me to go to a BBQ at his house. I hadn’t seen him in years and he told me a few of our old friends were going to be there. I decided to go and catch up. It was great to be with people that I’d experienced so much of my young adult life with; after a few minutes of small talk, it was totally natural to be with them again. We spent five hours standing around the kitchen eating, laughing and reminiscing about the stuff we used to do together. I drove home that night with a smile on my face, thinking about how intertwined our lives used to be and one word kept coming to my mind. Fellowship.
My young adult relationship with those guys didn’t revolve around Jesus and His church. It revolved around doing things together. Eating, driving, camping, going to the store or bank, important or unimportant, it didn’t matter what it was. We hardly did anything alone. We were always together. Does this sound familiar?
I just got done reading through the Gospels and it’s easy for me to imagine the relationship Jesus and His disciples had. They were together all the time! I can guess it was somewhat like the relationship I had with my old friends (except the disciples had God with them and got to see some crazy, supernatural stuff on a daily basis).
Intentionally Together
The relationships I have now with my friends and co-pastors are much deeper than those of my old friends. However, the responsibilities we have prevent us from spending all of our time together. This isn’t unhealthy or bad, it just means we need to be more intentional in spending time with one another.
How many stories could you come up with about the times before or after church when you had a two-minute conversation with a friend about work or the weather? On the other hand, how about the times you went and grabbed a bite to eat together? Went to the movies or hiking? Served on a mission trip together? Attended a birthday party? Fixed a car or bike together? Do you miss those times? I bet you do!
The difference between those quick conversations and actually spending time together is real, intentional fellowship. You’re together because you like each other and you’re living to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Brothers and sisters, we have a God who loves us enough to encourage these kinds of relationships! God wants us to be able to stand around and tell stories about what we’ve done and how we’ve lived our lives together. Just look at the Gospels. Look at how many stories there are of those guys spending time together and then look at the effects of 2000 years of intentional fellowship.
I have some great stories with a lot of you and I really want more! Let’s be intentional with spending quality time with one another and let’s not settle with a few, two-minute conversations a week being our idea of fellowship.
Let’s hang out!
Posted in A Word from the Pastor