Community and Fellowship: Tertullian: See How These Christians Love One Another

Tertullian reported that pagans observing the Christian community exclaimed: "See how these Christians love one another!" and "How ready they are to die for each other!" (Apology, Chapter 39). This was not mere sentiment but observable reality. The early Christians shared resources, cared for widows and orphans, ransomed prisoners, and buried the dead -- including the pagan dead whom their own communities had abandoned.

Tertullian described the Christian community's common fund: "Each one puts in a small donation, once a month or whenever he wishes. No one is compelled; it is a voluntary offering. These gifts are used to feed the poor, to bury them, to support children who are destitute, and old persons who are confined to the house."

Practical application: Ask yourself: "If an outsider observed my church community for a month, would they say 'See how these Christians love one another'?" Identify one concrete way your community's love could become more visible to the surrounding world. Tertullian teaches that the church's greatest evangelistic tool is not its preaching but its love.