Today, as we continue to think about the point of life, I want to invite you to think about the place of what the bible calls "fellowship" in our lives. George Macleod has pointed out that, "The Bible is all about community: from the Garden of Eden to the City at the end." There is in fact a deep need inbuilt in every one of us to share love with others. "The German philosopher Schopenhauer compared the human race to a bunch of porcupines huddling together on a cold winter's night. He said, "The colder it gets outside, the more we huddle together for warmth; but the closer we get to one another, the more we hurt one another with our sharp quills. And in the lonely night of earth's winter eventually we begin to drift apart and wander out on our own and freeze to death in our loneliness.""
Christ has given us an alternative: to forgive each other for the pokes we receive. That allows us to stay together and stay warm. (Wayne Brouwer, Holland, Michigan. Leadership, Vol. 17, no. 2.)

We've already considered that the point of our lives is that we should develop, enjoy and invest ourselves in relationship of love with God and with our neighbours (which includes reaching out with the good news of God's love to those who do not yet have a relationship with him). But there is a special importance given in the New Testament to Christians loving each other, and building true community. In one sense this is not new - the Old Testament emphasised that God's people should have a special care for one another. Our psalm today, 133, underlined the special joy and peace that comes when God's people live in harmony & unity. But on the night before he died Jesus said this to his disciples, "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another." (John 13:34) What made this command "new" was the definition Jesus taught for "love". He was so keen that this should be the hallmark of his followers that he added, "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35)

We read today in John 15, that Jesus definition of love was the one he had demonstrated to them by his own love for them. "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." (John 15:12) Ronald J. Sider has expressed it thus: "For the early Christians, koinonia was not the frilly "fellowship" of church-sponsored, biweekly bowling parties. It was not tea, cookies, and sophisticated small talk in Fellowship Hall after the sermon. It was an almost unconditional sharing of their lives with the other members of Christ's body." God invites us in Jesus to make the difficult, but infinitely rewarding commitment to care for one another. That's a definition of "community" or "Church". "Community ... means people who have to learn how to care for each other." (Eugene Peterson, Leadership, Vol. 2, no. 1)

This begins at the level of the openness and welcome we offer one another, in which every one of us has a role to play. "Welcoming isn't just something done at the door; it's something everyone does all over the building." (Calvin C. Ratz, Leadership, Vol. 11, no. 4.) It continues in our building relationships which go deeper. "People join churches more because they want warmth than light... what keeps them coming are friendships that foster inward awareness and support." (Jack R. Van Ens, Leadership, Vol. 8, no. 3.)

It is as we share our lives with each other that we strengthen each other and can help each other to grow, be healed, be equipped to face life's challenges, and so on. The old Japanese proverb especially applies to the sharing of life in the Church: "A single arrow is easily broken, but not ten in a bundle."

As I look back on my life and my experience of a fair number of Churches, what stands out for me is not so much the great times of worship, or wonderful sermons, or special services, or enlightening bible studies, or healing, or conversions, although I've been privileged to experience all of those. What I remember as best has been sharing in small groups with other Christians, where we have talked about how our Christian faith makes a difference to our ordinary lives, where we've encouraged one another, prayed for each other, supported one another in difficult times. The highlight of being part of the Church has been times when there has been true love for one another, which has been inspired by Jesus' love for us. Corrie ten Boom has said, "Be united with other Christians. A wall with loose bricks is not good. The bricks must be cemented together." God made us to love one another, and he especially wants us as Christians to discover what that means by sharing love within the Christian community, so that we can then reach out with his love to those outside the Church. Sadly we are often superficial in our sharing. We hide our real feelings, thoughts and needs from each other, and so we do not receive the support and prayer we all need, and that God designed us to find together. We are not meant to be self-sufficient. So let me ask a few questions to end with, which ought to challenge us to take the steps needed to experience and give to one another the fellowship God intends...

• Do we come to Church meetings primarily to give or to get?
• Do we look out for opportunities to welcome and talk to others, or just our clique?
• Do we pray regularly for each other? (Our Church prayer diary should help.)
• Do we try to encourage one another? "A pat on the back is only a few vertebrae removed from a kick in the pants, but is miles ahead in results." (Ella Wilcox.)
• Do we tell other people about our real thoughts, feelings & needs, so they can help us and pray for us?
• Are we willing to make the investment of time, energy & commitment required to be part of a small group which shares fellowship? We have some groups like that in our Church, of different types (profiled in our current Church magazine), and I wish we had more. You can share so much more with a small group that meets regularly. Why not ask to join one, or host a new one???
• What priority does fellowship with other Christians have in our lives? Does it reflect the importance given to this by Jesus?

Jesus' closest friend, St John wrote, "Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another." (1 John 4:11) May such loving fellowship be at the heart of our Church!