(We thank our good friend, Luc Niebergall, for sharing this revelation with us today)

“So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart.” (Acts 2:46)

There needs to be a revelation of honour that grips the Church if we are going to see a unified move of God. Honour needs to be woven into how we react to people who believe in different doctrines than we ourselves do.

If someone believes doctrine that we deem as ‘bad’, that doesn’t make them a bad person. I’ve heard some leaders of the church say that they won’t even sit down beside another leader because they don’t agree with their doctrine.

I’ve also heard of leaders who have resorted to sarcastic bullying in an attempt to putdown others with different view points. This form of stubbornness is probably one of the quickest ways to separatism and disunity within the church.

We need to honour people to the extent where we can differentiate them from whatever doctrine they believe.

Jesus was brilliant in how He picked His disciples. He picked a few fishermen which was one of the lowliest trades in that culture and time. He called Nathaniel, who was a nobleman. Jesus picked two men who were Zealots, which was a conspiracy group against the government and then picked Matthew who was a tax collector.

So, check this out. Jesus throws a bunch of lower class men with a nobleman. He takes two zealots who would have been labelled terrorists in His day and puts them together with Matthew who was a government worker.

Jesus took men who didn’t only come from different walks of life, but He chose men who had entirely different ideologies all together and taught them how to be a family.

The Last Supper is one of the most beautiful depictions of unity and fellowship written in scripture. We see 12 people eating together who from a realistic point of view should not be in relationship with one another.

Throughout the gospels we can see how the disciples clearly didn’t get along all of the time. In fact, there are numerous accounts of them arguing amongst each other. Considering their differences, how couldn’t they?

Nathaniel could have been somewhat pretentious, whereas the fishermen were probably on the rougher side in their personalities. Matthew, being a tax collector probably had problems with superiority and the Zealots more than likely had ridiculous authority issues. Yet they could live life together because they met around Jesus. He was their common ground to relate and love one another.

Back in Biblical times, people wouldn’t get together to eat with just anyone like we do today. Fellowshipping over food was something special. In that time and culture people would only eat with those who they were committed to living life with.

The communion is a picture of 12 men who committed to living life with one another. Jesus brought these men together and taught them to love one another despite their differences to the point where they could commit to each other and be a family.

All of that being said, we need to learn to stop stumbling over one another’s secondary and tertiary doctrines, and instead meet around Jesus who is perfect theology and our primary doctrine.

The church is supposed to be something greater than an institution or organization. The government model that God chose for the church, is family.

(Luc Niebergall lives in Calgary, Alberta with his wife Eline where he ministers as the assistant pastor of Imagine Church. Luc has a passion for revival and to see heaven invade earth across the world. Please visit his blog at www.lucniebergall.com)