By Pastor Steve Nickodemus

Devoted to the Fellowship

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“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
Acts 2:42 English Standard Version

John Donne wrote a poem entitled “No Man Is an Island”.  He asserts that every person is an integral part of the whole of humanity and that the loss of even one person is a loss to all.

As I stared out at lonely Gull Island off the Oregon Coast, I thought of the loneliness of the heart that plagues every human being.  Because sin has cut me off from God and separated me from His goodness, I feel as alone as a man castaway on a desert island.  This separation from God is reflected in the separation that I feel from others and is brought home to me in the permanent separation of death.

But in Christ Jesus, in His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, I am reconciled to God and made part of His family.  And in the fellowship of believers, I experience the joy and love that stems from our mutual reconciliation to the Father through our Lord Jesus.  No more am I marooned and forsaken in my sin, but I am brought close through the blood of my Savior.

I live now in a fellowship of believers, devoted not only to Jesus, but to one another, serving each other, loving each other, praying for one another.  If one hurts, all hurt.  If one is grieving, all grieve.  If one rejoices, all rejoice.

The world is a lonely place.  But in Christ Jesus we are all brought close to God and to one another.  And even in the loneliest place of death and grief, I have a joy and intimacy with the Lord and others that nothing can erase.  No man is an island… in Christ Jesus.  Amen.

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church Colorado Springs, Colorado