As we all know we live in a fast paced society. Everything must be done fast which probably is the reason so many of us lack patience. It seems that we are in a big hurry to get nowhere. And one of the fastest segments of our society is food. Fast food wasn’t fast enough so they put in drive-thru lanes. Now you don’t have to waste time getting out and going into the restaurant. You can wait in an automobile line instead! The point of all this is to say that our eating habits and customs have changed drastically in the last fifty years.
In Biblical times, preparing meals required time and effort. To eat with someone was to be at peace with him. It was fellowship. Isaac prepared a feast for Abimelech and his companions, establishing a good relationship between the two men who were previously at odds. (Gen 26:26-31)
Jesus asks for a drink
In the New Testament Jesus met a Samaritan woman at the well and asked her for a drink. This was quite unusual and she recognized this when she responded, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman? For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.” (John 4:9) A simple drink of water would have suggested a friendly relationship existed between them.
Jesus prepares a meal
But it was most significant that Jesus after His resurrection prepared a meal for His disciples. He took bread and gave it to them and likewise the fish. (John 21:13) And according to Luke, He ate in their presence. (Luke 24:43) In our culture we miss the significance of this. When the religious leaders took Jesus into custody, “then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.” (Matt 26:57) This was not long after Peter and all of the disciples said to Jesus, “Even if I have to die with you, I will not deny you.” (Matt 26:35) So the meal certainly was an indication to them that they had been fully restored to fellowship with Him. Can you imagine how they would have felt?
What about you? Is there something you think that you have done that has disqualified your relationship with Him? The disciples fled in fear and Peter denied Him three different times. And yet they were restored to fellowship with Jesus.
Do you have the peace of God?
Once you are saved, you can never lose your relationship with the Lord. There’s nothing a believer can do to lose the peace you have with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1). But sinful living can affect the peace of God in my life. Ongoing disobedience will cause me to lack joy and the peace of God (I John 1:4, 6). When I am going down the wrong road, God has not moved away from me. I have moved away from Him.
Fellowship with Jesus
All one needs to do is to change your mind (repent) about the direction you are heading. Confess it to the Lord and seek His power and help to correct it. “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:6, 7).
God doesn’t remove the consequences of our sin. But He’s always willing to restore the fellowship in the relationship so that you can experience the peace of God. “If anyone hears His voice and opens the door, I (Jesus) will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me” (Rev. 3:20). Now that’s fellowship, peace, and joy!
You can read more about this in Assurance of Heaven, chapter 9, Fellowship with God. Click here for more information about the book. Click here for a free study guide.
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Assurance of Heaven 