Daily Java: They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)
The old saying was that an army traveled on its stomach. As long as the food was plentiful, the work is not so bad.
Or at least, that is what I remember from being in the army.
In this verse, there is a lot of emphasis on the teaching and the praying and the commonality of all their possessions. That of course, is good. They are part of the bedrock of the work of the church.
But there was also an emphasis on the fact that the army of God in the book of Acts ate together maybe even every day. There was a lot of eating going on, anyway.
The same is true for the church today. God did not call us to fast or to deny. He called us to celebrate.
As the children of God, as the elect of heaven, we do things together to make us closer as Christians. And eating is a major part of that.
When we get together, we eat. That fact of eating together makes us more companionable, we get to know each other more, it just strengthens our bond.
When people miss potlucks or socials, they miss more than just dinner. They miss the gathering together of the people of God around the table for fellowship.
And, yes, a major part of fellowship is eating something. It is fun, it is enjoyable and it brings us together. Just like a family comes together around the table, so does a church. It is good and it is normal.
As long as they did this, they grew.
But I imagine that when they stopped, they ceased to grow. Just like we do when we stop hanging around together at church.
People are attracted to that and know when a group of people like each other enough to eat together. And it brings them into that fellowship.
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