That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door… (Mark 1:32-33, NIV)
Golfers may not understand group dynamics in the same way that athletes in team sports do. Football teammates punch each other’s shoulder pads to charge each other up and soccer teams fall into piles upon the scoring of a goal.
Maybe the fact that this sort of camaraderie is so unusual in golf is what made Jordan Spieth and caddie Michael Greller’s body-slamming cock-a-hoop shenanigans after Spieth holed out to win the Travelers Championship last summer the season’s signature highlight. These men were elated not as individuals but as a team—and the gallery feasted on their elation too, with cheers and hollers rising in a single crazed din.
In the church, however, we often issue warnings about acting with crowd-think. The theology is correct that we are not saved by association with any others than Christ. We can identify with every last Christian on earth, but if we don’t believe in the person and work of Christ himself, we are still lost.
When it comes to faith, we must possess our own heart of belief. But this does not mean we act alone. A simple understanding of koinonia reminds us of that.
What is this Greek word? Well, from it we derive our understanding of fellowship and communion. You might say that it is in this Christian community where we find these three remaining: faith, hope, and love.
Love, of course, is the hallmark of the Spirit at work in us. Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). Interestingly, Jesus did not say that our love for him would tell the world that we are his disciples. Rather, it is our love for each other that gives us away.
Likewise, hope is advanced in community. When Paul wrote to the Thessalonians about the resurrection of the dead in Christ, he told them to “encourage each other with these words.” The promise of eternity is something dear to our hearts, but it is made stronger in each of us when we share that hope with one another.
Finally, faith too advances when practiced in koinonia. When Jesus began his ministry as we read of it in Mark, we see that “the whole town gathered at the door” of Simon’s house in Capernaum. We can certainly believe for healing on our own, but how much bolder does our faith become when others believe with us?
In the end, we go daily before the Lord on our own two feet—or perhaps on our own two knees. But he gives us others to go with us as well: brothers and sisters in faith, hope, and love. We are there to stand with one another and carry one another in the giving and receiving of community.
—
Jeff Hopper
January 8, 2018
Copyright 2018 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.