| (Copyright) by David Antion (Pasadena, California) |
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| In ancient times the feast was about rejoicing in the fear of the ETERNAL. It was called the feast of the harvest, or feast of Ingathering, Feast of Tabernacles (Tents), or simply,” the feast.” The harvest was complete. Food was plenteous. The work was done, and it was time to rejoice before the Eternal and give thanks to Him and learn to fear to disappoint Him. People in Israel took their tithes of the land—food, wine, and animals– to the temple and ate in the place that God chose to place His Name — the city of Shiloh (at first) and Jerusalem (later). The emphasis was on rejoicing, eating the best, and drinking the best. The New Testament refers to God’s feasts as “love feasts” (Jude 12). Surely the word “love” is not referring to the “love” of food, wine, and good times. The word “love” in Greek is “agape” and means the kind of love God is and manifests. This is the love we are to give to God’s people – called the “love of the Brethren (Philadelphia) — and to God. But how do we show love to God? “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20). It is through the love we have toward one another that we love God also. Boiled down, the Feast is about God and His people. It’s about expressing love to God through His people. What does it mean to love people? It means getting to know them and caring for them. It means to forgive them. It means to consider their needs, feelings, and sufferings. It means respecting their person and their property. It means accepting the fact that others have a right to their own ideas, values, and decisions – different though they may be from your own. It means knowing that we adhere to the main tenets of Christianity – Jesus Christ as Lord, the Son of God our Father! We know that men and women are different. But we don’t need to judge them or criticize them but celebrate their differentness. We are different from one another in many ways. Respecting other people’s right to be different, even their right to make mistakes, and their right to make their own choices is a form of love. The opposite is tyranny and accusing. I believe the feast should be about growing in so many ways but especially in our love for Christ who is present in His people! ————————————————————————— Reprinted with permission from: Guardian Ministries http://daveantion.com/ ————————————————————————— |
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