This last weekend we went in our motorhome to a Christian rally group. There were about nineteen vans there, mostly of folk who we have got to know over the years we have been going. It is great to have this time together, as coming from different places and different churches, our paths don’t cross otherwise. Even though we are all from different backgrounds, with different interests, yet we all have the one thing in common….we are all in the family of God!
It reminds me that at the end of creation it says that God made man in His own image (Genesis chapter 1, verses 26-27). I got to thinking about this one day and thought of different ways that we are made in God’s image…. First of all, God is a three part Being, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; Man is also a three part being….body, soul and spirit. God is eternal, always has been and always is, and always will be. He has planted this seed of eternity in the man he created, and every person will live for ever….somewhere…. God is the Great Creator of all things….man in a much less way, is also a creator, able to create things whether it is in art, music, designing things, and even in cooking a good meal! At the end of God’s creation, He looked at it all and said it was VERY good, and so we too, have great satisfaction in doing a good job that is able to perform what it was made to do.
But the point I was getting at, is that God wants to have fellowship with the man He has created. He has made all nations with different capabilities, and strengths, but all people need to have fellowship with others of like minds. We all have to learn to get along with those who think differently as well.
When God had finished His creation, He had fellowship with the man who was able to respond to Him in the spirit which He has planted in every human being. But the first man was on his own, and God said that this was not good. Man needed a companion, someone the same as him, to have fellowship with, and God saw to it that one was provided. One day, He put Adam into a deep sleep and performed the first operation….He removed one of Adam’s ribs and made a woman companion for him from it, breathing into her the breath of life also. He then took her to Adam and gave her to him. Adam recognised her as being the only one at that time who he could have real fellowship with, he said that because she was made from him, she would be known as Woman. (Genesis 2:20-24)
We too, find the need for fellowship. It is this need that is fulfilled at gatherings such as we had on our last trip. In fact, we know this desire is directly from God Himself. He tells us in the Bible (Hebrews 10:24-25) that we are not to forget to get together with each other to stimulate and encourage each other. Just as a coal turns black and then cold when removed from the fire, so a believer who stays away from fellowshipping with others will ultimately grow cold and become dead to the service which God had for him to do.
Are you in this situation? Never mind for what reason…there is no person who cannot overcome hurt feelings with God’s help. In fact, the quickest way to do this, is to pray for those who have hurt you. We cannot stay mad at someone if we are praying for them! Let’s do something about it today!