Breaking Bread

Today is Maundy Thursday, the day in which Christians commemorate the Last Supper Jesus had with His disciples. In Jesus' culture, sharing a meal was an intimate experience. People reclined around a table sharing slices from the same loaf of bread and double dipping all night long. Definitely not what we Americans consider polite table manners.

Again, Jesus loved intimacy with his friends. He enjoyed being close to them and sharing the deepest, most profound thoughts and ideas with them. He laughed with them and cried with them. This is a wonderful picture of the relationship He desires with all of us.

The problem is that many of us really stink at intimacy. Intimacy scares us. It makes us uncomfortable. Besides our spouse, we don't let anyone close to us - mostly due to the fear that someone will see what we're really like and then reject us or hurt us. It's a natural fear, but one that we all must strive to overcome. God calls us into an intimate relationship with Him and an intimate relationship with fellow believers.

Go ahead, break off that piece of bread and double dip.