COV LIFE BLOG

Biblical Living – Caring Through Shared Meals

As we sat across the table from a traveling baseball player and his also athletic wife, I—who have never run a mile or watched a sports game—couldn’t help but think, “We would never be friends with these people … but I love them so much.”

It didn’t make sense for us to find such richly sweet company in this couple, with which we appear to have very little in common. But in reality, we have absolutely everything in common with them, because Christ is our everything. In moments like that lovely Monday night with the Bowmans, and the yummy burrito bowls they made for us, I see the truth in Christ’s promise in Mark 10: “There is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Through my short time at Covenant Life, I have seen that any relational loss I suffer for following Jesus is made up for, even on this side of heaven, in the body of Christ. My husband Peter and I were able to experience this quite deeply recently, as the church brought us meals after our daughter Piper was born. I’m somewhat new to being a grownup, so receiving meals in times of loss or new arrivals is a novel concept to me. I’ve seen it portrayed in a movie, when a grieving widower got a knock on the door and received a container of lasagna, for which he said a superficial “thanks,” and then put in his fridge stocked full with several other lasagna containers, all uneaten.

CLC’s outpouring of meals was a completely different matter. For one, the food was absolutely delicious, whether steaks or pulled pork or Chipotle or salmon or meatloaf or Five Guys. And we didn’t even get the same thing twice. Also, we received meals for six weeks after Piper’s arrival! This was particularly impressive for us, especially living in Brandon; many people we barely knew drove all the way from Tampa, Carrollwood, and even St. Petersburg just to bring us meals.

Best of all, almost everyone was able to stay and chat with us a while, or even share the meal they brought. Deeply edifying conversation flowed freely between us and each individual and family, because despite having polar opposite backgrounds, hobbies, or careers, we are all united with one all-consuming passion and goal: Christ and His kingdom.

Through an incredible six weeks of being served in ways that simply didn’t make sense, I was able to see God’s gracious design in commanding all the “one anothers” of the Bible. I realized I don’t have to live in the first century to experience the joyful unity I read about in Acts 2. Following our Lord’s example of serving others did not end with the apostles. Through something as simple as receiving meals, I was able to tangibly experience that our salvation was not the only thing Christ’s death and resurrection purchased. He adopted us into an entire family of people who don’t look or act like us, but who love the same Father and are daily dependent on the same Spirit. And that binds us.

Thank you, Covenant Life!

Hope Henchey