May Have Fellowship With Us
1 John 1:3 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
What is it that breaks down relationship between human beings and the Living God? The foundational issue of all problems in our world is sin. When Adam and Eve sinned, the perfect relationship they had with Almighty God was broken. Because of sin they were removed from the garden. Because of sin death and sickness entered the human race. All social problems we see today in our society at the basis of all of it is sin.
John again writes what we have seen and heard. The false teachers of the day could proclaim and state many things, but none of it would hold up against an eyewitness. They were basing their teaching on what they had heard from others or what Satan had sown into their hearts as lie and deception. But John was an eyewitness to Jesus. So, the words of John carried incredible weight and authority.
Why is Jesus so important? It all points to redemption and reconciliation. Because of Christ our relationship with God the Father is restored. Through Jesus we are able to have fellowship with the Father and The Son. When our relationship with God is made right through Jesus Christ, we then have the ability to have right relationship with fellow believers.
Fellowship in the Christian community speaks of intimacy. In the early church they would often spend great time together in fellowship. Sharing meals together, praying together, and listening to the teaching of the apostles. Today in our busy world we have missed much of this. It is easy to allow things that have no eternal value begin to rule and reign our lives. But God not only wants intimate fellowship with us, His desire is that we would have intimate fellowship with one another. When we are truly growing in Christ and His character and nature are manifested in us, His love begins to immerse our lives and is poured out on the lives of others.
Many in our world today are broken and lost. They are chasing after everything in this world to try to fill a void that only God can fill. Often for a person to come to Christ they must first reach rock bottom. It is in this place of desperation that they come to see their need for something greater than themselves. Often it is the hard and difficult things we go through that are actually the greatest blessing God can pour out in our lives. Even when we are in Christ, there are times when God has to redirect our steps.