The Joy of Fellowship

Having many things to write to you, I did not wish to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, that our joy may be full. – 2 John 1v12

Part of what I have enjoyed on this particular journey through God’s word has been seeing something of the heart of the writers. This somewhat slow pace has allowed me to catch just a little of how they thought and felt.

We see something of that in John here. ‘I have a lot I want to say to you,’ John writes, ‘but I don’t want to put them on paper, I want to come see you face to face so that my joy may be full.’

I think we, or at least I, miss some of that today. Modern technology has made it so easy to stay in contact that something of that personal contact of which John writes has slipped away from us.

Whether is it ‘paper and ink’ or ‘keyboard and monitor’ it really is not the same as face to face fellowship.

I am grateful that now we can see each other face to face over a computer screen and hear each other voices and share photographs and such immediately. That really does add to the fellowship.

But it still is not face to face is it? A hug, an arm around the shoulder, a good handshake – all of these are lost in the coldness of technology. Maybe John was on to something.

I certainly have some food for thought for today.