God's Table
1 John 1:7
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."
Every 3rd Monday of the month I go out to eat with a bunch of ladies from my church. They are much older than me, but I enjoy fellowshipping with them very much. For me it's a major highlight to be in fellowship with them in sharing a meal together. Communing with other Christians over a shared meal has a very long history.
The earliest Christians did not go out to eat together after their church service. In fact they went out to eat together during the church service. They gathered around tables and ate together before the preaching and hymn singing started. They called it the "love feast," and it wasn't just a symbolic meal, it was a real meal, where they sat down hungry and got up full. For the poorer members of the church it may have been the biggest meal they had all week. It was a time of fun and fellowship, as meals between friends always are. As the early Christians communed with God, they grew closer to one another. The first deacons in the Church were waiters at the love feasts. The apostle Paul instituted the office of deacon to help out the elders, who were spending so much time and effort serving at the love feasts that they had insufficient time for their teaching and preaching duties.
Communion is more than just little cup of grape juice and a piece of Styrofoam. Of course it represents Jesus' blood shed for us, and His body that was broken for us. It is one of the most important rituals of the Christian faith. However, it goes beyond the Lord's Supper. God is inviting us to feast on him and His word and be satisfied everyday! It says in Psalm 34:8 "Taste and see that the Lord is good." Communion with God results in communion with other believers who also commune with Him. That is why the early Christians' love feasts, in combination with the Lord's Supper, provide a more complete picture of Communion than the Lord's Supper by itself.
The act of sharing a meal-enjoying the same smells and tastes, laughing and joking, and passing the salt- served to cement their love for one another. To commune with Christ is to join a feast with other Christians. God promises that everyone who hungers and thirsts for righteousness will be filled. God prepares a feast for everyone who wishes to commune with Him, and it's usually shared elbow to elbow with friends and family. Jesus said in John 17:20-21 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me."
And you know what? It gets even better!! You know what we'll be doing in Heaven? You can count on a feast! The Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
"Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear.”
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)
Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”"
-Revelation 19:7-9
Any time you share a meal with fellow believers, think of it as practice.
Dear Heavenly Father,
You invite us to feed on you and your Word that we may be made full, but we don't always feel hungry. Make us hunger for You, Father, that we might be filled. Thank you, Father. We love you.
Amen
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."
Every 3rd Monday of the month I go out to eat with a bunch of ladies from my church. They are much older than me, but I enjoy fellowshipping with them very much. For me it's a major highlight to be in fellowship with them in sharing a meal together. Communing with other Christians over a shared meal has a very long history.
The earliest Christians did not go out to eat together after their church service. In fact they went out to eat together during the church service. They gathered around tables and ate together before the preaching and hymn singing started. They called it the "love feast," and it wasn't just a symbolic meal, it was a real meal, where they sat down hungry and got up full. For the poorer members of the church it may have been the biggest meal they had all week. It was a time of fun and fellowship, as meals between friends always are. As the early Christians communed with God, they grew closer to one another. The first deacons in the Church were waiters at the love feasts. The apostle Paul instituted the office of deacon to help out the elders, who were spending so much time and effort serving at the love feasts that they had insufficient time for their teaching and preaching duties.
Communion is more than just little cup of grape juice and a piece of Styrofoam. Of course it represents Jesus' blood shed for us, and His body that was broken for us. It is one of the most important rituals of the Christian faith. However, it goes beyond the Lord's Supper. God is inviting us to feast on him and His word and be satisfied everyday! It says in Psalm 34:8 "Taste and see that the Lord is good." Communion with God results in communion with other believers who also commune with Him. That is why the early Christians' love feasts, in combination with the Lord's Supper, provide a more complete picture of Communion than the Lord's Supper by itself.
The act of sharing a meal-enjoying the same smells and tastes, laughing and joking, and passing the salt- served to cement their love for one another. To commune with Christ is to join a feast with other Christians. God promises that everyone who hungers and thirsts for righteousness will be filled. God prepares a feast for everyone who wishes to commune with Him, and it's usually shared elbow to elbow with friends and family. Jesus said in John 17:20-21 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me."
And you know what? It gets even better!! You know what we'll be doing in Heaven? You can count on a feast! The Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
"Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear.”
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)
Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”"
-Revelation 19:7-9
Any time you share a meal with fellow believers, think of it as practice.
Dear Heavenly Father,
You invite us to feed on you and your Word that we may be made full, but we don't always feel hungry. Make us hunger for You, Father, that we might be filled. Thank you, Father. We love you.
Amen
Comments
Post a Comment