“They… ate together with glad and sincere hearts”

We have been going through the book of Galatians in our Charis chapel time. Previously we learned about Paul’s rebuke of Peter’s hypocrisy of not eating with the Gentiles when some Jews were in town, so last Friday chapel I invited the residents to share a meal together during chapel.

With the help of other staff, a hot breakfast meal was prepared and the tables were arranged in a circle. I randomly put name place cards around the circle and the ladies were invited in one at a time to find their place at the table. We began our worship time with a prayer of confession for the ways we have not loved and accepted our brothers and sisters in Christ, and then thanked God that Christ destroyed the barrier that divided us, redeemed us, and made us one in Christ, and sang some songs of praise together.

I later shared that when we walk the talk of a believer our lives are to be devoted to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to prayer, and to sharing in meals with one another (including the Lord’s Supper) without any favoritism. As we did not earn our seat at our breakfast table by knowing more Bible verses, or because of the color of our skin, or that we were here longer etc., I asserted we also did not and could not earn our place at God’s table. The only way we can be in right relationship with God, have the privilege of a place in his Kingdom – God’s family, and be invited to the table of fellowship, is because of what Jesus did for us on the cross.

The good news is that all are given a place, because of faith in the faithfulness of Christ and His gracious invitation, thus I invited all to accept that gift and to eat together with glad and sincere hearts. We got to know each other a little better by talking to the persons next to us and asking each other some questions from the “Un – Game” . Then we introduced the one sitting next to us to the others with their answer to their question. We ended our time together by remembering Christ’s work on the cross and sharing in communion together. Praise God for a great morning of enjoying the blessed fellowship of his body made one, because of His body broken for us.

Submitted by Freda Klassen