Christian fellowship

‘Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the twelve was not with the disciples when Jesus appeared to them‘ John 20:24

There was probably a very good reason why Thomas was not with the disciples when Jesus appeared to them in the upper room after His resurrection. It had been a hectic and upsetting time; he probably had business which had to be done. The result was that he missed this wonderful appearance of Jesus.

His absence caused him to disbelieve what he was being told, it just wasn’t possible. Although he probably wasn’t at the foot of the cross when Jesus died he still knew that Jesus was completely dead and had been buried for three days!

Because he was not with the others, he had to suffer further hours of anguish and despair by not having the joy which the other disciples had experienced. He could not, he would not believe, ‘Unless I see… ‘Unless I put my finger… ‘Unless I put my hand… . He was relying on his senses and not on his faith.

How many blessings do we miss because we are not in Christian fellowship? What experiences do we miss because we are going it alone? We are programmed for fellowship, Christian fellowship and we need the help and love of those who are walking along the same path.

Christian fellowship is something to be treasured. There are brave Christians round the world who have to operate on their own. They miss out on fellowship, sharing knowledge and encouragement. Where we can meet with other Christians we need to, it is necessary for our growth. I find there is a tendency since covid to be content with zoom services and using social media to share truths. But we are missing out. We need to make the effort; we need to sit in the same hall or room and look at each other in our conversations.

Out of respect for those who can’t physically meet because of illness or distance, we need to meet up more and share sweet fellowship..