Ordinary to Extraordinary: Fellowship
Yes, that is a big ol' plate of tri tip! Doesn't so much of our American fellowship revolve around food? In this series "From Ordinary to Extraordinary" based on documented family moments from A to Z, this weeks hot topic is Fellowship. I have a dinner party to get ready for and some fellowshipping of my own to prepare, so I don't have a lot of time for blogging today. But fellowship has been on my heart lately and so have the stories of times of fellowship that Jesus had and of parables He told regarding fellowship .
There is the dinner party at Simon the Pharisee's when the sinful, weeping women interrupts and washes Jesus' feet with fragrant oil then wipes it up with her hair. What does Jesus do with the "interruption"? He forgives turning the interruption into a time of redemption for the repentant sinner and an object lesson of true faith for the blind Pharisee.
There is the return of the prodigal son when the expectant dad throws a huge "welcome home" party to the dismay of the faithful son. Lesson: the lost CAN be found and what was dead CAN be made alive and when that happens we SHOULD celebrate the moment of hope restored, the lost found, and the dead living again. And standing outside the door, refusing to enter the celebration because of anger, jealousy, feelings of injustice, or pride is not okay.
God's warning to Ezekiel has weighed heavily on me this week:
Ezekiel 3:18-19
We are commanded to love and we cannot fulfill that commandment if we isolate ourselves and refuse to fellowship with others.
As we have seen through the bible's stories of fellowship:
love restores
love allows for interruptions
love displays faith
love brings the lost home
love breathes life into the dead
love celebrates the return of hope to the broken
My question is this: Are those around us worthy of being treated as guests? Whether they are a guest or not, treating them as so elevates your love for them.
Fellowship is simply relating to another fellow human being. Loving them well is viewing them as a guest in your presence and treating them as such.
Invite the guests into your presence, be it in your home, at church, at work or with the moms in the schoolyard. Don't run from fellowship with others, isolating and obeying do not go together and will bring the consequences of disobedience.
When we go to the Lord in prayer He will always set the banqueting party table for us. And if we choose to satisfy our needs with what He has to offer we will always leave full of the goodness of the Lord. So why not begin at His banqueting table then set your own and invite the guests?
Blessings,
Rachael
Our family fellowship from S to U . . .