NOV 20

Romans 1:8-12
Memorise Romans 1:12
“…that I may be comforted together with you”

Once you accept Christ as your Saviour, you become a child of God, a child of light (Ephesians 5:8). Suddenly, you realise that you are at odds with the world. You are no longer interested in the old activities that you used to enjoy like partying, gaming or listening to rock music. Your life goals have changed such that you no longer want to pursue a career just for money but seek to find out God’s will for your life. You also start to realise that you are enjoying less and less the company of your non-Christian friends. Indeed, “what communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14). You want to find people who you can talk to about God and your Christian walk.

Paul, the faithful Apostle and man of God, also felt this very basic need for Christian fellowship. He wrote earnestly to the Romans how he prayed earnestly that the will of God would be for him to go to them, for he longed to see them. This was by no means just a social visit, but it was so that he could “impart unto [them] some spiritual gift” to establish and build them up in their faith (Romans 1:11). We see in the next verse that this edification was not one-sided. Paul was also eager to be comforted and encouraged by the Romans as well, and this was because of the “mutual faith” they shared. Indeed this is a beautiful picture of what fellowship really ought to be about.

Every Christian needs fellowship, from the newly born again believer to the mature church leader. The testimony of a young Christian can remind more mature Christians of the marvellous grace and love of our Saviour who died for us. A recounting of God’s deliverance from a trial whether big or small encourages other suffering believers to persevere amidst their afflictions. A pastor’s prayer for believers in need exhorts and lifts their faith. In this world, we can only find true kinship in our fellow believers. We should seek to mutually build one another up each time we meet. Always try to share with other believers about something God has taught you or helped you with in the past week.

Thought: Do you actively try to edify and encourage fellow believers?
Prayer: Lord, thank You for the fellowship I can share with Your children. Help me to learn how precious it is and to truly treasure it.