""So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart...." (Acts 2)
Maybe that last phrase is the reason some people think that eating together is not "spiritual." They have lost the, "....simplicity of heart...." But remember that they accused Jesus of being, "Look, a glutton and a winebibber...." Why? Because He was always going to dinner parties. If all a Follower of Jesus does is go to Worship services, Bible studies, missions trips, "nursing home ministry," they have forgotten a fundamental principle of Church Life, "....breaking bread from house to house...with gladness and simplicity of heart...."
There is something about eating together which can take off "spiritual airs." And believe me; how easy it is for some to turn every gathering into a religious-spirit-driven one, e.g., "O, we can't talk about that; it's not spiritual." One of the best times I have with our local church fellowship is our men's breakfast. We talk of "the things of the Lord Jesus," but we also talk about other things, things which some would call mundane. But how can they be mundane if they involve a Follower of Jesus.
We are Bearers of Jesus' Presence in the earth, at home, at work, at play, anywhere, anytime. "Mundane" implies the secular, the too-far-below-me for some people. Such folk need to grow up. Everything we do, everything we say is spiritual, because everything we do and say is in the Presence of Jesus, His Indwelling Presence, as His Witnesses, His Church. Fasten your seat belt: If a Follower of Jesus goes to the grocery store, it's a spiritual endeavor; "fill in the blank." Remember Brother Lawrence.
Father, in Jesus' Name, thank You for inviting me to Your "banqueting table." Amen.
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Maybe that last phrase is the reason some people think that eating together is not "spiritual." They have lost the, "....simplicity of heart...." But remember that they accused Jesus of being, "Look, a glutton and a winebibber...." Why? Because He was always going to dinner parties. If all a Follower of Jesus does is go to Worship services, Bible studies, missions trips, "nursing home ministry," they have forgotten a fundamental principle of Church Life, "....breaking bread from house to house...with gladness and simplicity of heart...."
There is something about eating together which can take off "spiritual airs." And believe me; how easy it is for some to turn every gathering into a religious-spirit-driven one, e.g., "O, we can't talk about that; it's not spiritual." One of the best times I have with our local church fellowship is our men's breakfast. We talk of "the things of the Lord Jesus," but we also talk about other things, things which some would call mundane. But how can they be mundane if they involve a Follower of Jesus.
We are Bearers of Jesus' Presence in the earth, at home, at work, at play, anywhere, anytime. "Mundane" implies the secular, the too-far-below-me for some people. Such folk need to grow up. Everything we do, everything we say is spiritual, because everything we do and say is in the Presence of Jesus, His Indwelling Presence, as His Witnesses, His Church. Fasten your seat belt: If a Follower of Jesus goes to the grocery store, it's a spiritual endeavor; "fill in the blank." Remember Brother Lawrence.
Father, in Jesus' Name, thank You for inviting me to Your "banqueting table." Amen.
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When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
