We are not a stick!

Yep. That was the phrase I took away from time spent Sunday morning with fellow believers in Christ.

The topic of the day was about the importance of fellowship within the body of believers.

Acts 2:42-47

 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayers.

43 Then fear came over everyone, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles.

44 Now all the believers were together and held all things in common.

45 They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as anyone had a need.

46 Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple complex, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with a joyful and humble attitude,

47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to them  those who were being saved.

There are times when we want to go to a secluded place and just be, ourselves and God, and exclude the rest of the world.

One of the ladies in our group talked about this--our tendency to sometimes think our spiritual relationships are only between us and God.  She moved her hand up towards the ceiling and down to her heart, then said that our fellowship needs to also extend to those around us and moved her hand to the left and the right---very much as if she were crossing herself--and said "Hey, that makes a cross! So...we are not a stick!"

We need to be living "like a cross". True, there are times that we need to pull away from others and remove the interaction with others. Jesus did this in Matthew 14:22-23, for example.

Too often I think we find ourselves focusing on one mode of fellowship--focusing either on our relationship with God or our relationships with others.  Basically, we are acting like a stick.  To be more than a stick--to make our life look more like a cross--is a balance that is sometimes hard to keep, but that doesn't mean we don't continue trying to make that balance.

I am one who tends towards going off by myself and secluding myself from others.  Sometimes this is out of necessity and where I am at in various aspects of my life, and other times I just don't want to move outside my comfort zone.

Look at yourself. First of all, do you have a relationship with God? With Jesus Christ? Have you trusted Jesus to save you from your sin?
Secondly, do you  have around yourself a group of fellow believers that you can have fellowship with?

Are you doing your part to nurture these very real needs in your life?

Are you feeling like a stick? Do what you can to be living like a cross. :)