Lead On Softly

Today I read Genesis 33, the passage where Esau and Jacob are reunited after over 20 years apart.  When they parted Esau was scheming about the right time to kill Jacob for robbing him of his father's blessing.  Their reunion was marked by Jacob sending waves of gifts before bowing seven times to the ground before Esau.  The part which stood out to me was when Esau suggested Jacob, his family, and vast flocks and herds travel together with his 400 men.  Jacob graciously declined the offer.  He said in Genesis 33:14, "Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir."

For the sake of his family and flocks Jacob bid Esau to leave so they could both travel at an appropriate pace.  No doubt Esau and his 400 men had things to do and places to go, and Jacob did not want to be a hindrance.  He expressed his desire to "lead on softly" at a pace which was suitable for his children and animals.  This approach to shepherding is one shared by God.  Many people are destination driven, and the destination is important.  Yet God is not so keen to arrive at a destination quickly that He will drive the sheep to exhaustion and death.  A good shepherd pays attention to how the little ones are faring, ensuring there is good grazing, adequate water, and providing rest along the way.  God will lead on softly as much as we can endure because He will never trade a quicker arrival at a destination for the exchange of the life of a single lamb.

This loving way God leads and guides His people reminded me of a song my mum used to sing often.  It was one of the songs I requested the most when she played guitar and sang to us kids as we went to bed.  The song is taken from Isaiah 40:11, and the preceding verse is provided for context:  "Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. ¹¹ He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young."  God has a strong hand and is fit to rule all with a rod of iron.  At the same time He uses his hand gently to gather lambs and carry them.  He gently leads those that are pregnant with young, for He will ensure they do not come to the birth too soon.  God considers the health of His ewes and their little ones as more important than arriving at His intended destination, so He leads on softly - even carrying ones close to His heart who are without strength.  He will not abandon them in the way.

How good it is for us to take this to heart!  For those who are parents this is a good reminder for us to "lead on softly," not harshly driving our flock beyond capacity.  There is a big difference between leading and driving.  Driving is done from the rear with a loud crack of the whip and shouting, but leading is done from the front.  Let us be those who embrace the journey of godly child-rearing and be patient with others in Christian ministry, even if the road is long and the destination seems to always loom far in front of us.  A strong hand ought to be used to gently foster unity and patiently carry those who are without strength.  Hasn't God been gracious to lead us on softly?

Genuine Fellowship

"If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."

1 John 1:6-7

The word "fellowship" has been loosely used as a description of Christian gatherings as long as I can remember.  People say things like, "It would be great to get together for food and fellowship."  Fellowship (koinonia) as described by scripture is the ideal, but what passes for "fellowship" can be merely a friendly social interaction.  Personal fellowship with God is required before we can have fellowship with others.  Fellowship is not a gathering of people with similar beliefs, but those who are living righteously, loving others, and are being obedient to Jesus.  The Greek word "koinonia" as translated and defined by the Strong's Concordance can help aid us in recognising genuine fellowship from other impostors.

In the KJV, "koinonia" is translated "fellowship" 12 times, "communion" 4 times, and "communication," "distribution," "contribution," and "to communicate" once each.  Koinonia is much more than talking but a deep connection and intertwining of personal lives in the pursuit of Jesus Christ.  True fellowship is a freedom to contribute and distribute to others what He has freely given to us.  When Paul received a financial gift, he said they communicated with him concerning giving and receiving.  Paul had given them Bible teaching to supply their spiritual needs, and they communicated practical things to meet his physical needs.  Perhaps the meaning of "koinonia" is even more clear when we look at the Strong's definition:  "partnership, (literal) participation, or (social) intercourse, or (pecuniary) benefaction; to communicate, communion, (contri-) distribution."  Let's examine some of these facets in greater depth to help us appreciate what koinonia looks like:

• Partnership:  there is a big difference from working at the same job and being "partners."  One is a shared work space, but a partnership is a commitment to another person or people.  It is joining together as one for a cause for the benefit of all, choosing to trust God and others moving forward.
• Participation:  this means to be actively included.  It may be many people go to a dance and are content to sit and watch, but only those on the dance floor are actually participating in the festivities.  Not everyone will have the same skills or style, but anyone can have fun should they choose to lay aside self-consciousness and go for it.
• Social Intercourse:  this described a social interaction which goes deeper than surface level, as the word "intercourse" suggests.  Because other people are viewed as significant through God's love, there should be a genuine interest in others.  Christians who have been accepted by God must accept others, and have freedom to be transparent and share honestly without fear.
• Benefaction:  Christians are benefactors of the love, grace, and forgiveness of God.  We have received freely from God like beneficiaries noted in the will of a deceased person.  Our God is alive and gives according to His will.  We have each received some of the same things from God, but also unique gifts and talents we should rejoice in and use for the glory of God and the building up of other Christians.
• To Communicate:   communication is an exchange of ideas which requires a willingness to listen and contribute through conversation.  It suggests availability and the desire to pass on truths God has revealed and wisdom He has taught us through the scriptures.  Receiving is required for communication to occur, so we must be willing to both give and receive.
• Distribution:  Our time, money, and resources are all gifts from God we have received and ought to give to others as He leads.  When we recognise all good things we have are from God, we acknowledge His ownership through obediently giving according to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  If you become aware of a need, it could be God desires to use resources He has given you to meet it.

My friends, this is a picture of genuine fellowship.  As you walk in the light of Jesus Christ through obedience to Him, genuine fellowship can only be expressed and enjoyed by faith in God as we abide in His love.  Koinonia is a way of life for Jesus, and He is life for us.  If this description of fellowship makes you uncomfortable, good!  It is a grace completely foreign to our natural selves, yet an imperative if we will grow and mature in following Jesus and lead others to Him.  To walk in fellowship with God and one another is a call for all Christians, and God help us to joyfully do our part.  True fellowship is only something God can give.  If you are looking for "fellowship" primarily from a church or people, you're looking in the wrong place.  Once you have fellowship with God then you can have fellowship with others, and God will supply genuine koinonia for the church through you.

Coffee and Church Snobs

Among Christians, "the church" can have a bad rap.  There are "coffee snobs," and there are church snobs.  Unlike coffee snobs who know where good coffee can be found, church snobs resembling connoisseurs seem unable to find a church where they fit.  Like the Pharisees these have an amazing ability to find fault where there is really no fault at all.  Local churches which comprise the universal body of Christ may not be attractive to a visitor, just like a unique nose on a man's face could not be called particularly handsome. But it is the nose he has been born with, and it suits him just fine for smelling.  Church snobs embrace a role similar to an eager plastic surgeon looking for clients, happy to offer opinions how appearances could be improved.  One difference between plastic surgeons and church snobs are church snobs typically do not have a list of churches who have offered glowing reviews and endorsements of their services.

The church is compared in scripture to a building comprised of living stones which are people built on the foundation of Jesus through faith in Him.  It is also compared to to a body in where Christ is the head,  and people make up the diverse members and functions of the body.  To view "the church" as an organisation yet forgetting it is fundamentally a living organism birthed and sustained by God is a grave mistake.  It is more than structure but filled with breath, life, and light by the living God.  Human beings are much more than skeletons but living, thinking, speaking flesh.  God has placed unique personalities within all people, and because of our own human peculiarity we may find some personalities refreshing but others taxing.  Perhaps this is how it is with individual churches as well.  It is more than meetings, schedules, doctrine, and decor.  Every person and every church has a history, style, appearance, and feel all its own.  Pastors and parishioners alike through the transforming love of Christ make a church what it is.

I have heard people apologetically or boastfully claim coffee snob status, but to date I have never heard a church snob admit they are one.  Coffee snobs are all about barista skills, quality coffee, and enjoying the atmosphere of their preferred cafe.  They are receivers, consumers, looking to soak up the ambience.  Church snobs are very much the same, viewing a church like a person looking critically and wincing at the sheer ugliness of a man's nose.  Now a man cannot help the nose he was given at birth, but at least he can keep it wiped clean.  So it should be with church.  A man is grateful for a loving person who quietly alerts him to his dripping nose so it can be washed and be presentable, but to criticise his nose is to criticise the One who made him.  That is the error of what I  call the church snob.  Instead of criticism a contribution of grace would be most conducive to Christian fellowship.

When we commit to following Jesus, our responsibility before God is to cultivate intimate, regular fellowship with other Christians.  Church snobs seem to forget this, preferring their own convictions and company.  A critical and divisive spirit may lead to scathingly amusing cafe reviews, but it is murder on the body of Christ - and for the graceless soul from which it springs.  Instead of looking to receive, a humble servant of God seeks to give and contribute to the health of all through obedience to Jesus.  Instead of pointing out deficiencies, we are called to meet needs through Christ's sufficiency.  There should be a commitment to love believers made from the same stuff as our commitment to follow Jesus before we rebuke or chastise others.  How about sharing the love, mercy, and grace of God with others as you have freely received from God?  Out of His mercy God has maintained a relationship with us though we are undeserving:  how about happily sticking it out with others who love Jesus, contributing grace and being patient in the process?  Choose to learn to love others in the church, even when it seems impossible.  Then you will know it is God's love in you and not your own.

A Revelation of God

Before the death of Isaac, he called Jacob before him, blessed him, and directed him to go his uncle Laban in Padanaram to seek a wife.  Though Jacob had the birthright and his father's blessing, he was commanded to leave home and all that was familiar.  Unlike his outdoorsman older twin Esau, Jacob was a "plain" man who preferred living the comforts of home.  His dad gravitated to manly Esau, and his mother favoured Jacob.  He was a homebody, and apparently preferred spending his day tending stew over working outside.  In his advancing age Isaac sent Jacob away, and it must have been hard for him to leave.  I imagine many would have felt rejected and ostricised at that moment.

Jacob went from sleeping in the comforts of his tent to sleeping under the stars with rocks for a pillow.  After laying down to sleep in the darkness, in a dream God revealed Himself to Jacob.  Jacob had been sent away by his father, but God's eyes were upon him though he was alone.  Genesis 28:12-15 reads, "Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. ¹³ And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: "I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. ¹⁴ Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. ¹⁵ Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you."

See how God made a mundane thing like a night's sleep miraculous!  Darkness gave way to the light of divine revelation, and loneliness was swallowed up by God's assurance.  God promised to be with Jacob, to keep him, bring him into the land, and would not leave him until all was accomplished.  When Jacob woke from his dream, the place had not changed but he had.  Genesis 28:16-19 says, "Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it." ¹⁷ And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!" ¹⁸ Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. ¹⁹ And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously."  A place where out of necessity rocks were used as pillows became "The house of God."  The God of the house had revealed himself to Jacob, and he went forth to Padanaram with blessing and comfort from God's promises.

Jacob trembled at the revelation of the Living God, the One who graciously called to Him and promised to provide and protect Him.  We might feel ostricised, isolated, and rejected, but the God who sees will come to those who cry out to him.  We may be far from others, yet God is always near to us.  Jacob went out from under the watchful eyes of his mother and likely lamented his situation.  After God revealed himself, Jacob knew he was not alone.  Perhaps he spoke within himself words to the same effect uttered by Paul in Romans 8:31:  "If God be for me, who can be against me?"  A man is blessed to go forth even to unknown territory through faith and confidence in God and not in himself.  This is the man who will be prosperous and have good success (Joshua 1:8).