Koinonia

Love is:
~a verb.
~an action.
~a feeling.
~a belief.
~a reason.
~a many splendored thing.

How many people have tried to define love? How many philosophical and impassioned discussions have there been on the subject? Too many to count I'm sure.

I don't have an answer and I'm not trying to stir up another discussion.

I just have a few comments to make.

There are some people that I like. Some that I tolerate. Some that I may never have more than a passing acquaintance with.

Then there are some people that I genuinely love.

Sure, there's my family.

But there are friends for whom I have a deep, platonic love for.

A love birthed in fellowship.

{Fellowship -
{1. the state of sharing mutual interests, experiences, activities, etc.
{2. a society of people sharing mutual interests, experiences, activities, etc.; club
{3. companionship; friendship

I recently had the priveledge of gathering together with a group of friends that I love. It was a group that hasn't assembled for about 5 years. I've seen some of them off and on over the past few years, but this was a special time.

We shared joy together. We laughed. We shared trouble together. We prayed.

Truly this is a group that I share Koinonia with.

{Koinonia -
{Christian fellowship or communion with God or with fellow Christians;
{said in particular of the early Christian community.

I don't tell them often enough how much I value them. Honestly, the depth of my feeling for each of them doesn't in anyway make light of my other friendships and relationships.

But I read something today that I felt applied specifically to this group:

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." ~ Philippians 1:3-6

I love you guys.