1 John 1:3 --- that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
The Lord is so amazing how his word is so alive! As we spent time together today, verse 3 became the focus.
Now John spent verses 1-2 establishing who the subject he's talking about is Jesus Christ. Then he outlines his credibility or witness to Him. He saw Him, heard Him, touched Him. He walked with this living breathing Jesus.
Then verse 3 sums up the why by saying, he's telling us about this "so that you too may have fellowship"... okay right there is where things slowed down for me. Our discussion narrowed down to just: "may have fellowship"...
First I drilled into the word 'fellowship' because what exactly is that anyways, right? Hanging with church friends? Men's breakfast and bible study? Potluck on Sunday after church?
So, Google and the Oxford English Dictionary say it's, "a friendly association, especially with people who share one's interests."
The Greek used in God's word is koinōnia: fellowship, association, community, communion, joint participation, social intercourse, fellowship, intimacy.
Well, God's definition goes WAY deeper than friendly association of people who share your interest. Think about it, social intercourse, intimacy, joint participation... This is deeply getting to know people, it's "SEEING", "HEARING" and engaging with real people, in real ways and not just seeing and hearing them as part of the social noise of life (smile, nod, say hello, small talk, shake hand, move on, rinse, repeat).
I could go on forever on Koinonia but something even more awesome opened up in verse 3, "may have fellowship" was where I was anchored and with fellowship clearly defined, "may have" comes in.
So, 'may have' in the Greek is one word, echō... wait that looks like an English word we know, echo.. just minus the squiggly line over the "o". It means: to have equivalent to, to hold.
I had this image in my mind of someone joyfully shouting out in love, with a passionate genuine kindness, sharing Jesus, sharing who they are, reaching out to participate with others, to walk in life with them, to slow down and see people, to listen to them, to give them your time. To be real. This was all inside the shout!
Now obviously when you shout, you won't always get an echo back. Much of it depends on where you are, what the terrain is like (people's hearts, minds, etc...) and how the world is now you may get cursed at or a brick thrown at you, but the thing is this....
...How do we know where we'll get an echo back from, if we never open up, sacrifice our time and sacrifice our safety (not physical safety, protect yourself, meaning safety of the walls you've built around your heart and mind to keep people out)... and then just let loose with a good old joy filled "HELLO!!" or "ECHO!" or whatever you shout. LOL.
We're all busy. We all have the same 24 hours in a day that never seems to be enough. We've been hurt. We've been scared by pandemics, wars, and politics. I personally say, NO MORE!!
God's called us to fellowship with Him and with His church (fellow followers of Jesus Christ). Will you answer that call? I choose to answer it.
Remember you'll never know if you'll get an echo of fellowship if you never take heart, be courageous, know God is with you and give a shout to another!
If you need prayer today, please message me or comment. I pray for all of you but would love to come alongside you in whatever your need, storm or joy is today!
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