Doves On Distant Oaks

Show, Don't Tell

When I was learning my profession at a university, I was fortunate to have been educated under some prominent professors in my field of study. They were not so well-known that the general public would have heard of them, but in their professions, they were giants. Often, years later when I would make a statement, someone would say, "You must have studied under so-and-so, you sound just like them." I never took that as an affront or insult. Rather, I took it as an acknowledgment of the firm foundation of my study.

When Jesus ascended to Heaven and His disciples each began their missions to spread the Good News of Christ, there were times they didn't even need to speak the name of Jesus. People automatically knew who they had learned from just by the way they acted. In the early days of the church, people turned to Christianity because they wanted what these early disciples had to offer. It was something different … something that had not been found in other religions or philosophies. It was something they witnessed rather than were told.

The Greek word for how the early Christians related to one another was koinonia (koy-nah-NEE-ah), which means “communion” or "fellowship." It's from the root word koinos meaning "common." In other words, it's fellowship that grows from joint participation in what people have in common.

However, to use the term "fellowship" to define the koinonia expressed by early Christians is like saying the Titanic was sunk by a block of ice. The iceberg it struck we deep and unmovable. Likewise, the fellowship of believers arises out of a sense of love that runs deep. It can be just as unmovable.

What the Greeks used primarily was kerygma (kah·RIG·mah), which means "proclamation." It’s from the root word keryx, which means "to herald." At the time, Greek debate had ascended to such high esteem that multiple and varied philosophers existed at the same time, each proclaiming their different arguments.

These discussions were commonly held in public forums where each philosophy was promoted and defended. As a result, people tended to shrug off proclamations as just another teaching. What was unusual about Christianity, however, was the fellowship of love people witnessed between followers of Christ. It was all they needed to see in order to identify them as Christians, just like my university professors.

The reason Christianity spread so rapidly with no organization behind it was because people envied the fellowship they saw in Christians, marveling at "how those Christians loved one another." It was a divine relationship believers shared—a relationship between God in heaven, among each other, and how they treated the entire world as their “neighbor.” It was a true love triangle.

Unfortunately, the modern church now seems to emphasize proclamation. I can relate to this as a writer where I’m often admonished to show, not tell, in my writing. As Christians, we can be very good at telling others why they need salvation, but more often then not, we lack the ability—or desire—to show them what it means.

Instead of just talking about Jesus, what happened to showing the love of Jesus by bearing one another's burdens? The church today needs to recognize that relationships are more important than issues. If the church did so, there would be nothing it could do to keep people away. If not, there is nothing it can say to keep them.

By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

–- John 13:35

Keywords: Fellowship, Love, Proclamation

Comment publicly to Writing.com community below,
or comment privately to: [e-mail]