On Friday night we gathered with about twenty other believers. Some friends of ours decided to simply invite other Christians over to their home. Although I was tired from working about sixty hours this week, our family decided to go anyway. It sounded like too much of a good time to pass up.
The simplicity of the meeting was wonderful. After hanging out for a bit, we all crammed into the living room/dining room areas. We then spent some time looking through several different biblical passages that focus on the Passover. After reading and discussing the OT foreshadowing and the NT fulfillment in Jesus Christ, we partook of the Lord's Dessert.
I refer to it as the "Lord's Dessert" because we didn't eat a full meal together. We had all eaten something prior to arriving, so at this gathering we had bread, juice and/or wine, and various desserts. It was sweet both literally and figuratively. I think I had some coconut creme pie, a brownie, and a cookie. While we ate, we again just sat around and talked about life. The ages ranged from about five to sixty-five.
The key in this, of course, is not the type of food consumed or even the food at all. The beautiful aspect is the body of Christ coming together and edifying one another. It didn't take much planning or effort. It only required brothers and sisters meeting to share life.
Edification is not the ultimate purpose of the Christian's life. Worship is. However, edification leads to worship. Therefore, its great significance.
I hope you have regular opportunities to get together with other Christians to celebrate the Lord's Supper in a variety of ways.
2 comments:
Hi Eric,
I agree that meetings like this are wonderful. Planning and organising doesn't ensure an extra dose of the Spirit's touch, or of grace, or of the presence of Christ.
But being together, listening together, experiencing together, and suffering together bring real growth and enable us to move together deeper into Truth. (Truth, of course, is a person!)
Where we differ, perhaps, is on the ultimate purpose (not to deny the value of worship in any way).
I'd say the ultimate purpose has something to do with both knowing Jesus and taking him out into the world. The great commandment and the great commission go together - to 'love one another as I have loved you' and to 'go out into all the world making disciples'. Perhaps that is worship in spirit and in truth. If so we fully agree :-)
Chris,
Thanks for your comment. I think we agree. Knowing Jesus and telling others about him seems like an excellent definition of worship of him.
As for the dessert time, it really was wonderful. The only downside was that we had to leave at 9:00 PM so I could get to bed (4:00 AM wake up for work). I would have loved to stay and talk around the fire for much longer!
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