I got to church on Sunday just as the service began. My spirit was too low to praise and sadness surrounded me. I was there for about two minutes when I realized I couldn’t stay. My state of mind was clear to see and people with the very best intentions would either ignore e, or surround me with love and compassion, and I wasn’t open to accepting either in a group situation. When I got to the front door, a friend walked in who was even later than me. She hugged me and asked if I was all right. My tears started to flow and she suggested that we go and sit in her car. We spoke for a while and I felt better. I told her that I would not be going back to church and she suggested that we go for coffee. It was the best thing that could have happened to me. God’s timing in impeccable. We spoke about spiritual matters and our children and work and the weather. It was glorious. It was exactly what I needed.
Ephesians 4:1 – 6, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”
How are we ever going to live in unity if we don’t get to communicate on a personal level if we don’t interact on a personal level. We will never get to know anyone’s heart if we don’t connect with them in a way that we can actually hear what the desires of their hearts are. That is not something that’s going to happen in a church service. A small group or cell group is going to take us closer, but there’s nothing like one on one conversation over a cup of coffee.
Jesus didn’t just walk around preaching and multiplying loaves and fish, He shared many meals with people. I’m sure if coffee was around at that time, Jesus would have told parables over bottomless cappuccino.
Luke 19:1 – 10 tell of how Jesus invites himself to Zacchaeus’s house for a meal. The result was miraculous. Zaccaeus repented of his devious dealings and gave half his good to the poor.
In Luke 10:38 – 42 Jesus has a meal at the house of Mary and Martha and Martha complains bitterly that she has to slave away in the kitchen while her sister sits at the feet of Jesus.
When Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law in Matthew 8:14-15, she got up and started serving them.
Matthew chapter 22 tell of the preparations for the Passover meal which became the basis of Communion as we know it today. A group of friends having a meal and discussing the imminent fate of their Master became known as the Last Supper. A simple meal shared between them was set down as one of the auspicious occasions in history. The meal where Jesus announced that He knew who would betray Him; a meal where the disciples argued about who was the greatest; a meal where Jesus predicted Peter’s denial and His own death. This happened around a table, over a meal, not in a synagogue or a church with dramatic organ music or drums rolls stirring up the atmosphere.
I am not saying you shouldn’t go to church. Not at all. Church has a place in our lives, a very important place. It is the place where we worship and celebrate Christ’s love with other believers and should not be neglected. But coffee is what fellowship is all about. This is where we get down to grassroots.
So have coffee or have tea or juice or cheesecake with a friend and fellowship and get to know each other’s hearts as well as God’s heart.
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