Why would God consider fellowship critical? When I was in high school, it became a popular claim among evangelicals to say, "Christianity is NOT a religion, it's a relationship!" I even wore a button to school proclaiming this to everyone who would take time to read it.
In recent years, I've come to realize how shallow my relationship with God truly was. I have taken so much for granted through my intellectual knowledge of the scriptures and even my experiences of worship. I've had times of encounter with Him, but I don't believe I really knew what I was touching, or what His desires were. I was seeking some kind of experience, something to make me feel better, something to show others that I had it together and that I knew God.
But I have recently discovered something.
Fellowship with God, this relationship with the Eternal that we often boast about is far more than an intellectual knowledge of God or a brief encounter with His Holy Spirit. It is truly something that He finds important. As I was in a place of meditating on this, I sensed there were four reasons why He considers true fellowship with Him to be important. There may be more, but today I have these four.
Four reasons it is critical that we learn to have true fellowship with God.
God DESIRES relationship with us.
God DEMANDS fellowship with us.
Jesus DIED for this relationship to be possible.
Our eternity DEPENDS on it.
I will expound more on each of these points in later articles, but in this time, I believe that He is putting out the call to all believers:
"Walk in real relationship with Me; I desire it, I require it, my Son died for it and your eternity depends on it."
