fellowship

If the studies and my own experience – which for once match up – are to be believed, Americans are lousy at fellowship. It appears that adult men especially struggle; men over 30 are reported to get together with a male friend one-on-one on average once or twice a year. And at church, although more fellowship is always something people are asking for, fellowship events are often poorly attended.

That’s why this passage from 1 John 1:1-4 strikes me: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched —this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.”

Fellowship is another one of those things that Jesus modeled for us perfectly, and fixes for us if we let him. John writes the churches here that Jesus not only provides eternal life, but he ensures we won’t spend it alone. Already here on earth we begin to make the friends who will “graduate” with us and spend the eons in the new earth with us. That’s what the church is. We proclaim the good news to others so that they may fellowship with us. The answer to our fellowship problem is the church, and our church friends.

That’s another reason Christmas is a big deal. Life isn’t much fun alone, and eternal life wouldn’t be either. But God took care of that too.