The 7 Sacrifices to Joy-From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

The Seven Sacrifices to Joy-From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power…

Oh, happy day to you! Thanks for joining me for more of this series within a series, The Seven Sacrifices to Joy! Grab your coffee and come on in. Let’s get back to Paul and his gift of communication, koinonia!
Let’s move on to someone who valued communication, was actually an amazing communicator and spoke not only from his knowledge, which he was rich in, but his heart! He could have “coined” koinonia and koinonio for as much as he spoke about it and lived it. Can you guess who I’m talking about? Give up?
Paul! Koinonia was his favorite subject and one of the things he talked about the most in the letters he penned in some of his most difficult times, where all he had was the gift of communication via his letters and I’m sure that’s why he could write so passionately about it because we all know that saying: you don’t know what you’re missing until it’s gone!
In 1^st Corinthians 1:9 Paul reminds us that God is the one who has called us into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Do you see that word koinonio? I don’t know about you, but oftentimes, it is hard for me to allow that truth to sink in, that God desires koinonio with the likes of me, but He does! He chose to communicate with us before we ever chose Him, and He proves it by pursuing us relentlessly.
I can’t help but take a little detour here back to the Garden where we see this truth explicitly played out with Adam, and Eve, and God. Adam, and Eve, both have just eaten from the forbidden tree, the Tree of Knowledge (of good and evil) and immediately they recognize that they are naked. The crazy thing is in just a few verses before the first sin [Genesis 2:25], this “nakedness” translates to without shame; in other words they have a beautifully vulnerable relationship with each other and with God. But later, in Genesis 3:7, now their nakedness translates to “with shame” because their eyes (of their hearts) have been opened, so he begins to cover himself and Eve up with fig leaves. The vulnerability has disappeared and in its place is shame!
I can hear you asking, what in the world does this have to do with fellowship? Hold on, because I’m about to explain!
Have you ever busted someone in the act of doing something they shouldn’t be doing? Or do you remember being a child and getting caught doing something you just knew you weren’t supposed to do? Do you remember experiencing a bit of fear when the one who caught you caught you and called you on it? Well, imagine that emotion on steroids and then multiply that by a hundred!
In Genesis 3:8, we learn that despite them, God is looking for them but as soon as Adam and Eve heard God, they ran, as if to hide, among the trees in the Garden. Kind of crazy when we think about it; to take refuge in what got you in trouble in the first place! Why did they hide? Because of their shame; that’s why.
Then God calls out, “Where are you?” [Genesis 3:9] Now, personally, I know He knew where they were; that was an indication that the invitation for fellowship was still valid! In other words, we see the beautiful picture of God seeking fellowship/communication by communicating His unconditional love!
I don’t know about you, but every time I get that visual of them running for cover and God pursuing them, it just gives me the chills while warming my heart at the same time. See, haven’t we run from God after doing something stupid, or missing the mark? If He pursued Adam/Eve, then know that He pursues you and me! He longs for fellowship/communication with us. He doesn’t need it; He wants it! He proved it by paying the ultimate sacrifice! God was the first example of the sacrifice of communication!
Now, that’s initiation for some beautiful communication! Join us tomorrow for Jeff’s Java Hour!
Grateful for fellowship,

Evinda