Fellowship – it’s a wonderful word. It’s what we were made for. It satisfies the deepest longings of our heart. It is the answer to loneliness. Nothing in this life compares with it. It starts now and goes on forever.

There is no greater joy in life than fellowship. It expresses a relationship of great intimacy and depth. It even became the favourite expression for the marital relationship – the most intimate between human beings. It is a rich word that describes a life together in which everything is shared. 

It also describes our relationship with one another. We can have deep genuine friendships and honest communication. There is no need for masks or ‘spin’ or ‘image’. We can be real before God and before others. The result is a level of intimate connection with one another that is best summed up in this beautiful word, ‘fellowship’. 

God loves us. We need to be constantly reminded of God’s love for us. Our intimate connection with the Lord is based on his enduring love for us. Respond by giving ‘thanks’ to God for who He is,What he has made, and what He has done for us. 

We are called to this intimate relationship with him. We are created for an intimate relationship with God. It is personal: ‘The Lord our God ’Yet intimacy with God is not to be taken for granted. God is mighty, holy and just.

We are created for intimate relationships – with God and with one another. There is a hunger deep in our souls for an intimate relationship with God. There is also a hunger for intimate relationships with other human beings. 

We are not intended to live alone. God created us for community – a community as close and as interdependent as the various parts of the human body. The body is a unit but it is made up of many parts. We now belong to one another. 

For the organs of our body to fulfill their purpose, they must be connected to our body. Our relationships are as intimate as the different parts of a body. We are utterly dependent on each other. The more different we are, the more we need each other. 

People come into our lives from all different backgrounds, nationalities and positions. God has designed the body so that there will be this mutual dependence. ‘I also want us to think about how this keeps our significance from getting blown up into self-importance. For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what we are a part of. 

Keep trusting God even when everything seems to go wrong. Have the courage to be different.