
Devoted Fellowship
This week marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation by Allied Forces of the Nazi death camp, Auschwitz. This anniversary reminds us of the horrors of war, the remarkable ability of humans to act in unspeakably evil ways, and of an antisemitism that turned murderous. This is a moral evil that we should not allow to ever happen again.
It was in one of these Nazi prisons that Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a day after his 39th birthday, was hanged. He was a German pastor and political prisoner of the Nazi’s. Why reflect on this while thinking about the need for believers to be devoted to fellowship?
In 1939, Bonhoeffer’s book, “Life Together,” was published (purchase the book here if interested: Life Together). He authored this book from his parent’s home in Germany, a year after the Gestapo closed the seminary where he had been teaching. He knew Germany, once they survived Nazism, would need a new, Biblically true church.
The church is God’s plan for gathering the redeemed, putting them in a family together, equipping them for ministry, and sending them on mission. The fellowship of the church means more in times of great crisis, whether personal or global, than it does under the bright skies of trouble-free days.
When our days are filled by the routine of job, chores at home, taking kids to activities, visiting grand-children at their next sporting event, attending a Sunday worship service, and planning our calendar with the same activities next week, then “fellowship” becomes something we put on our calendar as a possibility if we can fit it in, and once we know what dessert item we are expected to bring.
When grief enters our home, health challenges become too much to manage physically or emotionally, job opportunities dry up, or children and grandchildren move away, “fellowship” becomes something we long for, even if we do not know that is what we need. Bonhoeffer knew that God’s plan was for life together, and that in times of crisis life together was not just a blessing to enjoy, but a necessity.
From the book of Philippians, “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;” (Phil. 2:1-3). We defined fellowship as, “gospel-centered friendship and a shared mission of gospel proclamation.” D.A. Carson wrote, “The heart of true fellowship is self-sacrificing conformity to shared vision.”
The church needs one another. As quirky as we are, as difficult as we can sometimes be, as self-reliant as we often behave, we need one another. We need one another to stir our affections for Christ and the spread of the gospel. We need one another to keep perspective on the challenges of life. We need one another to keep successes from building pride. We need one another to give us a different insight on Jesus and His work. We need one another for company in times of isolation, for companionship in times of distress, for accountability in times of wandering, and counsel in times of confusion or doubt.
Devoted to fellowship is about one another. You may feel like your purpose in the church is uncertain or unclear. You may feel like a burden to others more than a help. But every one of us is part of the family of God, part of the body of Jesus, and is therefore valuable to the working of every other part. Even when we cannot see it. Bonhoeffer died at age 39, eighty years ago. But he is still contributing to our life together. Never underestimate how God is using you in the fellowship of the saints.
By His Grace and For His Glory,
Pastor Mark