Is it important to you to eat meals together? How many meals per week do you have with your family? Do you sit down together for your supper, even if you cannot the other meals? Do you participate in fellowship meals at the church you attend?
Sitting down to eat meals together has become a challenge. Our children are playing various sports, taking dance or music lessons, our jobs may require us to work late, and we have grown tired. For many of us, we have lost a precious opportunity to spend time with our families.
Fellowship is also important for Christians. It may include having a meal together or simply sitting down to talk for a while. It is important to do so. It is in fellowship that we get to know one another, hear how God is working in their lives, and grow together in our faith. We were created by God to be in fellowship.
In the early church, they were devoted to fellowship. Lest we think these were the one-hour worship services we have today, they were not. The early Christians met for a large portion of the day. True, they came together to hear a message, but they also had a meal together, partook of the Lord’s Supper, prayed together, and they continued fellowship for a few hours. They also often would baptize new members, welcoming them into the fellowship.
We would do well to slow ourselves down on Sunday’s and spend time with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Rather than rushing into worship at the last minute and rushing out before the final note of the postlude is struck, spend some time with one another. Share your struggles and your joys. Share how God is working in your life and listen to how he is working in others. This is a key contributor to growing closer to God.
I pray we all slow down, especially on Sunday’s. I pray we spend time with our brothers and sisters. I pray each one of us will make time to sit down to a meal with our families. Slow down. Spend time in fellowship. Enjoy a meal with family. Spend time together in prayer. Partake of the Lord’s Supper. Listen to how God is working.
Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Marty Pressey 