Read
Nothing destroys like isolation. POW’s during the Vietnam War communicated and sustained one another by tapping through walls. The Hanoi Hilton, says ex-Air Force pilot Ron Bliss, sounded like a den of run-away woodpeckers. The North Vietnamese never mastered the code, which laid out the alphabet on a simple 5 x 5 grid. The code flowed so fluently that the men told one another jokes. Kicks on the wall meant a laugh. Every Sunday at a code signal the men stood and recited the Lord’s Prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. Even walls and guards could not stop the prisoners of war from having community and fellowship with one another. We face our own walls and barriers to true community within churches today. The essence of community is at the very least a conversation together, a quick connect, a holding of a hand to join forces together to serve this day. Question…“Is true fellowship alive and well in your life today?” 1
Reflect
Let us think about each other and help each other to show love and do good deeds. You should not stay away from the church meetings, as some are doing, but you should meet together and encourage each other. Do this even more as you see the day coming. (Hebrews 10:24-25 NCV)
Respond
One of God’s purposes for you is fellowship. On a scale of 1 to 10, how connected do you feel with other believers? Do you have a sense of Christian community with your brothers and sisters in Christ or do you feel separate and isolated? Why or why not? How can you have true fellowship with others?
Your thoughts?
Remember
There are no Lone Rangers in God’s Army. Together we stand shoulder to shoulder.
1Adapted from a story told on Preaching Today Cassette number 218 entitled “Community At Risk.”