What is Fellowship?

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." -Jesus

The mark of a disciple of Christ is supposed to be of our love for one another. Jesus was very adamant about how important fellowship is supposed to be. As Jesus was about to be crucified, he spent some of His final moments washing the feet of His disciples. He told them, and thus us too, that if He, our master, is willing to treat us this way, we should seek to treat each other the same. Jesus set an example for how we should treat others in the body of Christ. Scripture tells us to be humble and to think of others as better than ourselves. Jesus is very clear on how important our love for eachother should be.

As Jesus is being crucified, he shows us just how important our ties with fellow believers are. As Jesus is on the cross, He does not ask His biological brothers to watch can care for His mother, he asks His disciple John to do that. Jesus wants His church to love and care for each other's needs. We can talk about the importance of going to church, but fellowship is more than that. Fellowship is living life together with other Christians and a willingness for us to sacrifice for each other.

In early Christianity in the Roman Empire, it was illegal to be a Christian, so Christians had to gather secretly and constantly be on the run. This resulted in Christians selling their possessions and homes to help provide for one another as they constantly moved. This command to love has not disappeared. I still see it in my church with church members coming together to buy someone a vehicle to repair their deck, I see it in the prayers we have for eachother, and I have felt that love in the support and welcomeness and discipleship I have been given since I first arrived. Are we making the church known by the love the members have for eachother?