“What does the pig say?” “Oink!” Have you, too, played the barnyard sounds game with little ones? “What does the cow say?” “Moo,” comes the answer. After watching the movie Finding Nemo, we mask ask, “What does the seagull say?” “Mine, mine, mine.” My grandchildren are seagulls. The toy each one wants is the one the other one has. They come by it honestly. Their dads were seagulls, too, for a while.
There were no seagulls in the first church at Jerusalem. Not only did they worship and instruct, but they shared and served. They devoted themselves to the “koinonia,” fellowship, sharing all things in common. One sure sign of the Spirit was the suspension of selfishness! Not only did they share their stuff, but they sold their stuff to supply the needs of others. They shared their time, meeting together consistently.
In a shift to consumerism, we have changed the language of church membership to the verb “go.” “Where do you go to church?” someone may ask. My mom and her generation used a different verb. “We ‘belong’ to that church.” Paul used the analogy of the body in describing the church’s relationship to Jesus. Jesus is the head. We are the body. My hand belongs to my arm. My foot belongs to my leg. We belong to each other. When we see this connection to each other in the church, we will gladly share our time, our treasures, and our talents. Good things become better when we share them with others. Good news; There is a place for us in the body of Christ. Have we found it? Will we share our lives, or be seagulls?
Our granddaughter held up the angel from the nativity scene to Mimi. “What does the angel say,” she asked. “Be not afraid,” my wife answered. Fearless fellowship fully flows to all who belong to Christ and his church. Be sure to share. Freely we have received. Freely we give.
