Permit me to end this week on the study of fellowship on a personal note. My mother was one who loved fellowshipping. I don’t remember much about this side of her before she retired but after she did she seemed to thrive. She helped start a group for retired nurses like herself who cared for one another, met monthly and helped in the community wherever they could. The group is still in existence, over thirty years later. She was always seeking the interest of others, so much so that we would often marvel at how much time Mom spent on the phone (and the subsequent phone bill!). We joked at how many funerals she attended. She was instrumental in the setting up of an elderly home attached to her church and often visited there. She was always kind to family and friends.
The thing with fellowship is that if you do it well, it returns to you in kind. As my mom aged, so many persons responded to her to ensure everything with her was fine. They cared deeply for her as she did for them and others earlier in her life. Last Tuesday my mom passed away. Close friends and family readily reached out to be there for her and for us.
One last thought about fellowship. We enjoy the horizontal but never forget the vertical. My mom never did and frequently thanked God for all that He gave her and did for her. She loved Him a lot. Fellowship is the most meaningful when the vertical drives the horizontal as we can be sure to never get it wrong. Be sure to be part of the Fellowship of the Trinity. Your life will be so much richer for it.
April 5, 2014 at 7:33 am
Thank you so much for sharing about your mother, when I read what she did in her life I was truly encouraged. What an example of life she set. It is so amazing what normal people can achieve when they care for others. The fellowship she developed was so meaningful and sincere. She really cared about people and that really makes a difference.
I have seen people trying to set up projects for the community but having behind personal interests. Although it may help others, that does not have the same power of the things done with a pure heart, a heart that really loves people.
I can see that your mother left a tangible legacy by caring for others. This week I have learned that God’s ways are so simple and easy if we just love people, and I can confirm this again by seeing your mother’s life, how much she achieved for the Kingdom by showing God’s love to others.
April 7, 2014 at 12:38 pm
Gordon, what a beautiful tribute, and what a legacy to have been left by your mom.
The point that the vertical should drive the horizontal really struck a chord with me and I’d been mulling over this idea of fellowship all day on Saturday but had not had a chance to write a comment. So this is a little late. It is often so easy to fellowship and reach out to people who are similar to us, people we like or have an affinity to. It is much more difficult to reach out to those who are not like us, those whose personality may rub us the wrong way, or those who have a very different background to us, or are not as educated or not as well off as we are. But they are still part of the body. They need fellowship and we need to fellowship with them. Often time it is our own hang ups that keep us from reaching out. But if we remember that the vertical should drive the horizontal, then that translates to love for and obedience to God and should compel us, hopefully, to create opportunities for fellowship, even if one step at a time.