Starving At The Feast!

In the opening scenes of the movie “Lonesome Dove,” the cowboys of the Hat Creek Cattle Company were just sitting down for their breakfast, having been up since sunup doing their chores. They were hungry. Call and Gus, the two leading characters of the movie, were involved in their daily ritual of arguing about insignificant things. Although friends and partners of many years, they sniped at each other’s ways and musings at every turn. Finally, Pea Eye, one of the cowboy wranglers sitting at the table waiting for his food said, “Can we eat now or do we have to wait till the arguments over?” Bol, the cook, immediately interjected, “You will starve if you wait for that!”

I’m starving and the table is full of food!

The feast has been set for Christians to eat and be satisfied but like Gus and Call they are mired in endless arguments about things of no consequence. Churches are continuing to divide over disputes about individual preferences and will continue to “starve” each other of food that will benefit the body. The food, Jesus’ words of life, is rotting at the table and is not being consumed because of our focus on the preferential mechanics of the assembly and running the church. Leaders have spent way to much time and effort defining their churches based on either old or modern cultural attractors and have forgotten that Jesus and his words both define and bind his followers. John 13:34 and 35 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” These words of Jesus, when consumed by us at his feast, will transform us to look like him and the fruits of this love will glorify God and unify us with Jesus and his Father.

My Dad used to tell us, “no arguing at the dinner table.” He knew that arguing would ruin a good meal and we didn’t have time to waste or the food would get cold. Now, our continuing argument about our wants and desires keep us from the unity that Jesus wants for his followers. It is this unity that attests to Jesus’ place as savior of the world.

Rise up, Oh Christians, and taste God’s mercy, and feed that mercy to the hungry world. God will be glorified and praised by your life of worship as people who have been transformed to look like His son.

Let’s Eat! or the food will be served to others who are hungry. They don’t “play” with their food.


Don Campbell