HOW CLOSE IS TOO CLOSE?
If you aren’t familiar with Ray C. Stedman, I highly recommend you introduce yourself to him. I’m currently reading his book, Body Life, which was first published in 1972 and revolutionized the way America does church. I want to discuss the chapter I read today titled, “Keeping the Body Healthy.”
There is an illness plaguing Christians in the Western church. Its symptoms include (but are not limited to): complacency, hypocrisy, prejudice, pride, and selfishness. The bad news is that it has spread like wildfire. The good news is that there is a cure. It’s called koinonia.
Koinonia- Christian fellowship with other Christians
Here’s a more detailed description of what koinonia looks like in action:
“The New Testament lays heavy emphasis upon the need for Christians to know each other, closely and intimately enough to be able to bear one another’s burdens, confess faults one to another, encourage, exhort, and admonish one another; and minister to one another with the Word, song, and prayer.” (Stedman p. 151)
However, the world offers a different prescription. I would suggest it looks something like this:
“The world lays heavy emphasis upon the need for individuals to know themselves better, closely and intimately enough to be able to meet their own needs and keep everyone else at arm’s length, pretend like everything is okay, build one’s self-esteem by any means necessary, stand up for one’s own rights, and judge one another; and spend quality time seeking truth for oneself through deeper introspection and experimentation.”
Can you see the difference? As Christians we are called to live a life of transparency, confessing our deepest hurts, struggles, sins, fears, etc. We are called to bear one another’s burdens, honor each other above ourselves, forgive each other and build each other up. We were built for relationship on the foundation of LOVE. However, the world has tried to distort this way of living. Fellowship either becomes co-dependency or individualism, transparency turns into walled facades pretending everything is okay, forgiveness becomes the right to be right, and encouragement turns into superficial words of flattery.
So I’ve been asking myself lately, “What would it look like if the entire Western Church started practicing koinonia and stopped being plagued by complacency, hypocrisy, prejudice, pride, and selfishness?”
Well, the New Testament Church in Acts gives a glimpse of what koinonia looks like:
“All the believers were ONE IN HEART AND MIND. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With GREAT POWER the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.”
Acts 4:32-35
I want to take note of the part that says, “With GREAT POWER the apostles continued to testify.” Notice what it doesn’t say: “With limited resources due to the sharing of possessions…” or “With frugality and caution…” It was with GREAT POWER that the apostles continued their ministry AFTER becoming “one in heart and mind” and sharing everything they had with one another. Therefore, we can agree that when Christians fellowship deeply and intimately with each other, practicing koinonia, it strengthens the body of Christ, bears witness to the world of God’s power, and brings glory to the Lord God almighty.
I don’t know about you, but I’m hooked on the koinonia drug and expecting the Church to feed my addiction! It’s long overdue.
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