What do we in the First World do with the bible’s promise of persecution?  This is not the persecution of sickness, or disobedient kids, or only having 1 house and 3 cars.  It is not the persecution of accumulated debt or anxiety or age.  The bible’s promise of persecution is the promise that this world and those in it will attack, demean, and attempt to stop us from sharing our message of God’s Kingdom and grace.  And this is a problem for us in America.

When was the last time you were persecuted like this for your faith?  Persecution is seldom an issue for us, and so we go to great lengths to find it.  We claim politicians and liberal media and fundamentalists and popular culture are persecuting us by disagreeing with our message.  But disagreement is not persecution.  Who among us has lost our job ONLY because of our faith?  Been attacked physically ONLY because of our faith?  Lost something of value ONLY because of our faith?  This is persecution, and we in American suburbia do not know it personally.

Is the lack of persecution because of “American religious freedom”?  Is it because God has protected us?  Is it because we have slyly gone about our subversive message of the coming Kingdom “off the radar”?  Or might it be more likely that we are simply no threat to our persecutors because we are not spreading the message with any effectiveness or enthusiasm?  Persecution comes when people don’t like what we are doing, as was the case in most every early church of Paul’s day.  But today our churches are far more likely to be aiding and abetting our cultural forces, our financial idols, and anyone who would persecute us.

Does the church today have the courage to take the stand to which we are called and live so differently than the world around us that we draw attention to ourselves?  Are we willing to speak the truth of God’s grace in such a way that we become a threat to both the society around us that wants our devotion and the Organized Religious Leaders who want the status quo?

Are we willing to stand for Jesus at work, school, neighborhood, church, and family even if this means persecution?

“We were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well because we loved you so much.” – 1 Thess. 2:8

This verse from Paul’s letter to the church in Thessalonica has become a bit of a life verse for me.  For years I’ve used it to intro Annual Reports, congregational letters, and even personal missives.  I think it shows the result of good Christian fellowship.  And it’s a verse we could all learn a lot from.

The purpose of Christian fellowship is not entertainment.  Far too often churches get together for what they call Fellowship but is in fact just a time to have fun together.  And while this is not wrong by any means, and can be very helpful in some situations, it is not what Fellowship is all about.  Christian Fellowship’s purpose is to help one another grow.  If all a church does is play games together, then we are not growing each other.  Paul says that it was his delight to share with this Thessalonican church “the gospel of God.”  Fellowship is about sharing the gospel with each other.

And who doesn’t need to hear the good news of Jesus’ mercy and love?  If you aren’t a Christian, you need to hear it 7 times (by most accounting anyway) before you’ll consider it for your own life.  If you are a Christian, then you need to hear it again and again for encouragement in your own walk and encouragement to share it with still others.  The first purpose of Fellowship is to share the gospel of God.

The second purpose of fellowship, according to this verse, is to share life together.  Now this doesn’t mean sharing your opinions about the weather or the latest fad, but really sharing life together.  This is hardship and joy, confession and forgiveness, testimony and doubt.  This is stripping away the masks that hide our true selves and revealing the “I just woke up” you to others.  The second purpose of Christian Fellowship is to share life together.

How is your fellowship used?  Are you just hanging out with a Christian crowd but not growing in your faith?  Or are you sharing the grace of God and your very life with others in the church?  The choice is yours.