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Hey Ladies,
There is a significant dynamic when it comes to fellowship.
When we consciously decide to be involved in a community, it creates a feeling of unification and belonging.
It is vital to know that when we are in a community, we all are in union with Christ. There might be times when we feel disconnected and isolated, but if we are already linked in, the thread of the community will bring us back together. Just as forest trees are connected by their root-system and communicate their needs (such as for nutrients) to each other through a complex network of fungi that grows in the soil, we should also stay connected.
A community in Christ is there to support and advocate each other through love and compassion.
It shouldn’t make you feel uncomfortable in any way, it should rather give you comfort in challenging times.
"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." (Hebrews 10:24-25)
I know that not all people are made to flourish in social settings, but any form of community is essential to our well-being.
Being connected can be a step closer to a healthier and positive lifestyle.
Here's a short testimony of how Inge found a community in which she could flourish:
"A couple of weeks ago, I felt the prompting to join the church I used to visit in my home town. I have been away from this church for quite a while as I've joined a church permanently in my university-town but due to COVID and not being able to go back to the university-town, I had to make the decision to either join church online or getting connected in a local church again.
My heart was extremely reluctant as I've grown comfortable in watching church in the safe confines of my home. Despite the comfort that kept on calling me back, there was a greater hunger in my heart for community and fellowship, that called me towards the church.
One Friday evening as I joined a 'Young Adults'-gathering that the church was hosting, I felt this need for fellowship grow in my heart.
The gathering started out with me feeling isolated and left out because I knew very little people. I kept on praying that God would put me back into the community and send at least one person to talk and comfortably connect with.
As I was praying this prayer, the girl next to me turned to me from 1.5 meters away and started talking to me. Turns out we went to school together. We spoke about Jesus, our callings, and our obsessive needs for order in our lives.
The fire within my heart, burning for Jesus, but which has been dying out the last couple of months because of isolation, was flamed yet again.
This conversation with a stranger turned out to be only the first of multiple answers to my prayer for fellowship.
Soon I was back in the community, within a safe space to share, grow in faith, and enjoy myself again.
God truly puts the lonely in families
Psalms 68:5-6: A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, He leads forth the prisoners with singing, but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.
When we recognize the importance of connection, we will start to see how dependent we are on being a part of a bigger picture. Even our spiritual lives depend on being together with our fellow believers (But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin…1 John 1:7)
May we realize that community is a necessity as it encourages us to express love to one another and also motivate each other in our good works.
Lots of Love
Inge & Tehillah
xx
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