Since moving here last November, many of you have shared your homes, your time, your moving skills, and your conversation with me. Meaningful relationships within the Church can be hard to define, but you know it when you see it. I have been thinking about Scripture says about this experience of fellowship.

In a small house Church, it’s easier to build meaningful relationships within the body of Christ and harder to remain anonymous. However, in our larger Church context we all need help building meaningful connection with one another.

Consider a few of the "one another" passages in God's Word. 

The various “parts” of the body of Christ should care for each other (1 Cor 12:25).
They are to bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2).
They are to be patient and forgiving toward each other (Colossians 3:13). 
They are to confess their sins to each other and pray for each other (James 5:16)

It’s impossible for believers to obey these commands unless they are in regular meaningful relationships with one another. God explains the Gospel dynamic of fellowship in Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. There it says that because of every believer’s faith in Christ each one is now a member of the “household of God.” In terms of the Gospel, that means that believers are not loving one another in order to be a family. Rather, believers are a family so that they can love each other.

 
Scripture’s call to believers is you are now part of a new family - the body of Christ - now go be who you are. A believer living a life disconnected from meaningful relationships in the Church - that’s simply not who you are. We all need help with this. Let’s pray that the Father would help us joyfully accept our new identity - children in the Father’s family. Let’s pray that the Father would help us live in the Church like they are family . . . because they are!