This Sunday following our worship service, we will have our “Finger Food Pot-Luck Fellowship Lunch.” At the surface level, this may seem to be just a fun get-together, an opportunity to enjoy a meal over conversation and probably some laughter. I hope it is that, but I also hope it is more than that.
Consider some of the metaphors used for the church in Scripture: the people of God, the body of Christ, the Temple of the Holy Spirit, a holy nation, a royal priesthood, and God’s inheritance. All of these are corporate in nature; God has called us to live out our faith together, for that is the only way we can grow into the fullness of Christ, the only way we can have a meaningful impact on this world, and the way we can demonstrate the love of God in our hearts that makes us one. While we all must have our personal faith in Christ, we live out our faith with one another, united as His church.
In addition, through our fellowship with one another we are able to experience something we both need and something God desires for us – that of loving and being loved by one another. How wonderful that God has not called us to live out the Christian life completely on our own! Instead, we have brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage us, teach us, pray for us, rejoice with us, cry with us, love us. It’s in this kind of fellowship, united through Christ with one another, that we really live life in its deepest, most satisfying, and joyful sense.
Of course, it takes more than one lunch together to develop those kinds of relationships. But since we are scattered throughout the whole Lake Zurich area, we must take advantage of every opportunity we can to strengthen our relationships with each other. So please bring something simple to share with others this Sunday, and may we continually deepen and enrich our relationships with one another.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Bob