Family vs. Fellowship

Good morning,
I pray that the day is finding you well.

“I’m not much for going to church, but when I think of fellowship this is it.”

We were working out in the community garden at our church on Saturday, there was about twenty of us, and a neighbor that lives across the street came up to me and made this statement.

We were all working hard, pulling blackberry bushes, which I have been thinking about lately and will write about later, making planting beds, mowing and weedwacking the church grounds, building a rabbit fence for the garden (in an attempt to keep Peter Rabbit out of Mister McGregor’s garden) and having a lot of fun being together. We had no idea that “people” were watching us, and it got me to thinking.

Fellowship vs. Family:

The church doesn’t have a corner on the market for fellowship anymore. There was a time when I was growing up that the church was “the place to go” for community events and to congregate as a group, sound familiar? There was a time when extracurricular activities were scheduled around the church. The church was known as the place for fellowship. Not anymore, we can go to Starbucks and be with a group of people, we can go to a ballgame and be with a group of people. We can go any number of places and fellowship.

But family now that is a different matter.

Church still has the corner on the market for family.

The difference between family and fellowship is family loves you and you love family. The church is the place to go to find a group of people that will truly care about you and give you the opportunity to care back. Just try to go to Starbucks and share a burden with the group there and see how many people offer their help. Try not showing up for a “Tuesday coffee” and see how many people give you a call to see if you are alright and tell you that they missed you. Try not showing up to church, you will get a call. Share a burden in church and you will get help, that’s family.

Social media is full of people “trying to connect,” one even calls it “friending.”

We go to places where people are because we get lonely, this is a lonely world. In the midst of the sea of humanity somehow we have managed to become isolated and we are people that need the company of people.

We, churchy people, love others because Jesus loved us first before we even loved Him, and because of His love and our love of Him we are able to love those that don’t love us or know us yet. If you are looking for a place to connect, a place to belong, wouldn’t it be nice to belong to a place where the people will really take an interest in you and love you, giving you the chance to love them? I will even make you coffee!

A note about our neighbor across the street.

He took the time to walk over, share his thoughts and helped us mow the lawn. He even brought over his pickup truck so that we could haul off the blackberry vines. He isn’t much for church but he wants to be part of us. He even said, “If you need anything just let me know I want to help.” He is part of our family.


Something to think about.

Blessings,