by Linzy Slayden
We are living in not only a digitalized world, but a depersonalized world. It is an automated society where you have to remember your zip code, your area code, your social security number; where now when you call a number you no longer get a live voice, but you get a voicemail, or an answering machine. There has never been a greater time in the history of mankind than there is right now for a personal touch of friendship and fellowship.
In this hyper-connected society of digital downloads and instant messages we need a personal touch. Reading has become a “skim and scan” affair, and conversations take place via text using letters and numbers. Shakespeare’s introspective “To be, or not to be” can now be whittled down to “2b? Ntb.” Yes, the world moves more quickly than ever, with no sign of slowing down, and this “faster is better” mindset has created a culture of looking at rather than seeing what’s around us.
In a 2001 article published in Empirical Study of the Arts, researchers reported that most museum visitors spend a mere 17 seconds examining a painting. That’s half the length of the average commercial, and barely enough time to sing the first two lines of the “Star Spangled Banner.” Surprisingly, a painting’s popularity made little difference in the result, so not even masterpieces like da Vinci’s Mona Lisa elicited greater attention.
In this culture the Word of God and the work of God offer something better. Personal fellowship.
There is only one reason why anyone can have true fellowship —because Jesus Christ is real, and Jesus Christ is risen. In 1 John 1, the Apostle John reminds us that Jesus is not only real in eternity but real in experience. John is saying Jesus is not some mythological figure like Hercules but that he literally walked this earth. Jesus was also real in expression. God knows the only way anybody can know Him is if He reveals Himself. Jesus was God’s full, final, revelation of Himself. Thank the Lord for this truth, but there is more.
The blessing of fellowship includes the blessing of a vertical relationship and also the horizontal relationship. One of the most beautiful words in the New Testament is fellowship. One of the wonderful things about being a Christian is that a Christian life never has to be a lonely life. The beauty of fellowship is revealed to us in I John 1:4 where we are told that the goal is that “our joy may be full.” Fellowship brings enrichment, encouragement and enjoyment.
I see this in the BBFI. We have a big tent that not only stretches across our nation but reaches around the world. Our churches are like people —no two are alike — but they are all preaching the Word and trying to reach their community and the world. When we get together we enjoy enrichment, encouragement and enjoyment. When we really see what is going on around us we are blessed in the BBFI.