Partnership

I pray that your partnership with us in the faith...

Philemon.6

Mark Meynell:

The word translated “partnership” (koinōnia) is hard to capture precisely. It has often been conveyed as “fellowship” but that seems too passive; an alternative is “sharing” but that also feels a bit too weak. The essence is a deep and mutual bond: a belonging to one another that leads to serving with one another. It is actually an outflowing of our common bond with Christ. It is joyful and active, committed and sustained.

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I found this definition of partnership so very helpful- "a deep and mutual bond". We can get so used to the words fellowship and sharing that they lose their weight. We long for this deep and mutual bond among local believers here. I was surprised by the word "with"- expecting for Meynell just to say "serving one another" which we more often talk about maybe. But serving with one another is a beautiful picture and something we want to aim for among believers. I think that can sometimes be missing, sadly, in church life. We quite rightly look out for each other, serving each other, but often miss out on the blessing it is to be serving with one another for  the common cause of making the Lord Jesus known.