Gathering with other Christians has always been a vital aspect of the Christian life. In the early days the church would gather around a meal. This was the original ‘communion’ celebration. There was something amazing about these gatherings that was unprecedented anywhere: around the table were people of all nationalities and classes. A Jew sitting next to a gentile and a slave next to a noble. It was an amazing expression of the power of the gospel to unite previously disparate people. But imagine the problems. The Jewish people had very specific dietary habits; their meat had to be prepared in a certain way and often, because of the lack of ‘kosher’ meat, they would not eat meat at all. This was what they were accustomed to, and they weren’t going to change overnight. Imagine the tension this could have caused at the meal. Add to this all the other different habits of the different people and the different perspectives. It’s amazing their fellowship ever worked! It could only work if people got into the habit of thinking of each other rather than just themselves. Even today our churches are filled with people of all different walks of life. It is how church should be. We must recognise that it takes no small degree of selflessness for this to work. Try to connect with people who are different from you and who have different opinions about things. Try to see things from their perspective and don’t look down on them. Discuss differences but don’t be divided over them. Let your faith unite you, not divide you. Value the diversity and be willing to sacrifice a lot for unity.
Pray for the unity of your church.
Read Romans 14
