Comforting one another …

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4, NIV).

  When I was a young blond kid with the famous crew-cut from my youth, there were many ways people came together in fellowship at the old country  church on the prairie in rural Minnesota.  Of course there was a Christian fellowship built around the common promises of Bible verses, blessed hymns and the strengthening words of the preacher.  This was the common bond bringing people to gather and come together in this place for encouragement.  Still there were other types of fellowship happening in the relationships amongst those who gathered there.  There was a kind of connecting fellowship somehow strangely nurturing when a group of men and few tag-a-long sons dug graves in the church cemetery whenever someone passed from the earth.  There was a certain kind of cheerful fellowship that was reserved for only girls, mothers and grandmothers and remained secret because I was never invited to hear about since I was a boy. Boys hung out on the porch attached to the parsonage where we were given our crew cuts amongst a half dozen old men who told wonderful stories of buggies and wagons pulled by horses with names like Jack, Buster and Red. There was a kind of fellowship in the winter that included snow balls fights, being allowed to start the car with your best buddy to let it warm up and taking your turn at shoveling the sidewalk alongside the church.

           

      In the summer when school was finally out, along came a different kind of fellowship amidst the church softball games, the Vacation Bible School time and the hot summer picnics when the ice cream would have  the texture of thick sweetened lukewarm milk. There was a certain kind of Midwestern fellowship that took place on the large rounded sloping fenders of the old Chevys and Plymouths and the new crisp lines of the Ramblers and Fords. There was a certain kind of uniting encouraging conversation which always followed the services when weather and corn crops were connected in the hearts and struggles of the farmers while little boys were generally encouraged to “run along.”  There was a certain kind of fellowship that took place on any trip to camp or church meetings in those same cars without any hint of air-conditioning on hot summer late afternoons.  There was a certain kind of enduring fellowship that took place when people bought food over whenever there was any kind of heartbreak or loss in your family.

    

    There was also a certain kind of fellowship that came about when people spoke in hushed tones about difficulties with their finances, farms and families and were seeking some extra funds, a little harvest help and even some possible encouraging words.  There was a certain kind of nurturing fellowship that came from all the grandmas directed fondly to both mothers and children, both related and unrelated, as they took them under their watchful and protective eyes.  Finally there was a special comfort which came from a hearty laugh and massive arm wrapped around your shoulder brightening a difficult day as a reluctant smile came over your face.

           

     We are a generation removed from those times.  The car brands have changed, we have remote engine starters, air conditioning almost everywhere we go and the ice cream is usually frozen when we get together. What has not changed, is our basic need for encouragement and our need for fellowship and connections with people around us. We all need love, support and help from time to time.

     We could change the details in this little piece and give accounts from the early church, the middle ages or even a modern version with computers, cell phones and cars from numerous countries with various names but in every age; people need each other and people need encouragement. God has comforted us and we need to comfort each other with the comfort He has given us because we all need encouragement. “So encourage each other and give each other strength …”  (1 Thessalonians 5:11)