Pole Sitting

There was a very holy man in the 5th century, remembered in the church as Saint Simeon Stylites. He gained extensive fame as a holy man by spending thirty-three years living on top of a ten-foot pole. He was up there by himself until the day he died. He had a few other kooky ideas, too.

People flocked to see him, seeking a few words of wisdom from the man so holy he would live on a pole. I'm not sure I make the connection. Chances are, you're smiling at the idea, which just proves Pastor Steve's message on Sunday: fellowship is what Christians do.

Remember: True devotion to Christ must be evidenced by consistent devotion to Christians!. It's a supernatural fellowship, drawing its source from the Gospel. Fellowship with God is the fuel for fellowship with one another.

The Gospel defines our fellowship--it's sharing with our fellow-believers the things that God has made known to us about himself. In fellowship we are dependent on Jesus and on the grace that comes to us through one another. Fellowship is giving and receiving, the way that the eye serves the hand and the hand serves the eye.

The Gospel determines fellowship's goals: obedience, sanctification, and unity. Our first goal is obedience to the commands of God, which includes the 'one anothering' commands. In sanctification God uses other people to conform us into the image of Christ. We need to be unified the way that individual stones come together and fit to form one building.

So what do you think about these points? Are we as women committed to this kind of fellowship? Or do we have our own personal poles that we're sitting on, separating ourselves from each other in a pretense of holiness? Or perhaps we are the ones at the bottom of the pole, looking up in admiration at the holy one sitting up there, not daring to approach, not hoping to measure up. Let's not be so silly.