The Importance of Christian Fellowship.

I struggle with this topic--it's an area that I am working on, so I decided to write about it as it will remind me of what I need to do. I think there are three aspects of Christianity that are very difficult to perform on your own: learning, living, and serving. Learning Christianity on your own is much like trying to teach yourself calculus. You may learn some aspects of it but you're not going to see the whole picture and it will take longer to understand. Proverbs 27:17 says: "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." Beginners need a good teacher to get them started the right way, and people that are more familiar with Christianity need peers to discuss their thoughts with. Church on Sunday is like going to class, but you need to do your homework to understand better. I have found from experience that independent study only goes so far; you need to see other viewpoints about scripture to understand it the way it was meant. Church attendance and group bible study are important to fill in those gaps.

When I say living is an important aspect of Christianity, I mean living within a Christian community. Mathew 18:18-20 : "When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I'll be there." By surrounding yourself with fellow Christians you inadvertently weed out a lot of negative influence in your life. Showing your faith and dedication to God as a Christian means living a certain lifestyle. Being a member of any religion brings you under the scrutiny of others which means that it is important to show your faith through your life and actions. Be a Christian; live as a Christian (this goes back to the post: Life in God). A fellow Christian will uplift you in your walk of faith, discourage you from sin, and hold you accountable for your actions. Knowing that another person is invested in your life is a great motivator to follow the right paths.

Acts 2:44-47 brings us to the third aspect of serving, it says this:

"All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

When envisioning this in a modern-day society, it is hard to get a mental picture. Church gatherings, bible study, and service groups are all forms of Christian fellowship. Individually we can serve God, however in groups we can accomplish more. An article I was reading here said this: "You might say that God’s plan must be compared not to a solo but to a symphony." I can see where this is quite true; as humans it is our job to serve and praise God as a community. God intended us to serve Him by spreading His word and building on His kingdom that is Christianity. This is in no way possible on your own; a team is required.