SHARING

Spending time in the developing world leads inevitably to lots of reflection on the nature of charity and generosity and my own responsibility to my fellow man. 

And that gets rather uncomfortable. Because, honestly, there's a part of me that wishes I could shut out all the needs and inequalities and the suffering of others. It's tempting to throw up your hands and ask, "What difference can I make anyway?"

But Scripture doesn't leave that as an option. 

Here's a passage I came across this week as I have been working on a Thanksgiving weekend sermon:

Hebrews 13:9 - Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Perhaps I was looking for some loophole here, but I decided to investigate the word that is being translated as "share" in this command - and I ended up with a surprise.

Turns out it's one of the words which might already be familiar to you if you know anything about the original Greek of the New Testament: koinonia.

This is the word that is typically translated as "fellowship" - meaning sharing together in life, bonding over commonalities. 

The author of Hebrews says, in effect, "Fellowship what you have with one another". 

I'm not sure exactly what this means - I've got more chewing to do - but it seems to encompass much more than simply writing a check to a worthy charity.

The sense of fellowship - the koinonia - with the amazing individuals we have met this week has been what has made our time so special, meaningful, and memorable.