Growing up I walked past the men’s Bible class every Sunday. The sign above the door said
“Koinonia” (koin-own-ya). Didn’t know what it meant then. Didn’t think to ask.
I forgot about koinonia until I read it in a devotional this week. Some say it means “fellowship”, but it’s lots more than that. Fellowship is having a cup of coffee or tea with a friend. Koinonia is intimate, binding communion. It’s the same koinonia that first church enjoyed in Acts 2.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common.
It’s a closeness born out of a true, never-to-be-broken commitment to another person or close-knit group. Koinonia describes a business partnership when both partners agree that if one goes belly up they both go.
Years ago Siamese twins were koinonia. Siamese twins joined in the middle have one blood system flowing in and through them. If one twin dies, both die.
I want koinonia with my men’s group. With my church. With Jesus. I want to be that intimately close to Him all the time. I want to live and move and have my being with Jesus in koinonia.
etv2020
ין חנה
Karen
ptl2010
rickroehm
setyourpathsstraight
Steve Sawyer
wayneman
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Thank you so much for your comment and insight. I think it’s a tragedy that so many of us throw away tons of food each day while others in the world die of hunger every day. You are right, we, as a people, have not managed our resources equitably. As a result too many are fat and wasteful and too many starve to death. Thank you for these timely comments.
Thank you for writing on this very important topic. The early Christians practised Koinonia – life in community. This is what we are expected to do today. If we did this, there would be no uneven distribution of the earth’s resources as is the case at the moment, where some people have more than enough and some perish in hunger and misery. May your light continue to shine as you take your message far and wide.