A natural meal with a supernatural family

Posted by Alan Knox on Dec 14, 2007 in community, discipleship, fellowship | 2 comments

Scripture tells us that on the day of Pentecost three thousand people were added to the church. As they began to learn what it meant to be God’s people, some things about their lives changed, while other things remained the same. They continued to eat normal food; but the context of those meals changed:

And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts… (Acts 2:46 ESV)

Every day, or at least regularly, the believers met together in their homes to share their food with other people. Family meals were very normal. The meal itself had not changed. But, the family was now completely different.

Of course, this relationship change had be described earlier by Jesus. His disciples were simply following his lead:

While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:46-50 ESV)

Jesus instituted a new family – not created by bonds of flesh and blood, but created by bonds of Spirit and faith. The new followers of Jesus did not merely accept this theoretically and then go on with their lives as usual. Instead, their new brothers and sisters became part of their lives, sharing everything with them – from the most extraordinary to the most ordinary. They shared their possessions, their meals, their time, their very lives. The meals that they shared were quite ordinary – natural meals. But, the family with whom they shared these meals was extraordinary – a supernatural family.

To do this, we have to be willing to open up time in our busy schedules for other people – to be willing to spend time with brothers and sisters that we may not know very well so that God can bind us together through his Spirit. It means that we will need to go to baseball games and dance reviews and award nights and picnics and vacations that are important to our brothers and sisters. We will need to consider them before we consider ourselves – which is almost impossible to do. It means we may need to turn off the TV or put down the book or open up our “family night” in order to invite in our true family – brothers and sisters who have been adopted into God’s family together with us.

During this time of Christmas, it is normal for us to spend time with our natural families. But, what about your supernatural family? Share your time and some meals with your supernatural families as well. And, when you do, share some of your experiences with us here. Let’s celebrate natural meals with supernatural families together!