Christians can be grouped into two categories — marbles and grapes. Marbles are "single units that don't affect each other except in collision." Grapes, on the other hand, mingle juices: each one is a "part of the fragrance" of the church body.
The early Christians didn't bounce around like loose marbles, ricocheting in all directions. Picture them as a cluster of ripe grapes, squeezed together by persecution, bleeding and mingling into one another.
Fellowship and worship, then, is genuine Christianity freely shared among God's family members. It's sad to think of how many Christians today are missing that kind of closeness. Sermons and songs, while uplifting and necessary, provide only part of a vital church encounter. We need involvement with others too. If we roll in and out of church each week without acquiring a few grape juice stains, we really haven't tasted the sweet wine of fellowship.
— Anne Ortlund
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