Breaking Bread House to House

"And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart."—Acts 2:46

When a young man and a young lady begin a courtship they can never get enough of each other’s companionship. There is so much to talk about. Every detail of the other’s life is of intense interest. Time together flies by only too swiftly. So it is with the Christian and his Lord. He loves to spend time in prayer and study. Each new detail he learns excites his emotions.

But the individual Christian is not the only bride of the heavenly bridegroom. "The body is not one member, but many" (1 Cor. 12:14). Thus it was, from the very earliest days of the Christian church, that the believer not only loved to spend time in study and meditation upon his espoused, but also was desirous of spending great amounts of time with his fellow believers. Their common interest in Christ was the focal point of their lives. As the Apostle Paul said, "I am determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2).

Thus it was that from the first day of the Christian church, the Day of Pentecost, the brethren not only worshiped daily in the temple, but began regularly "breaking bread from house to house." These joint meals provided a continuing opportunity for Christian fellowship in which they not only became acquainted with their future bridegroom, but also with other members of the bride class. This was not burdensome to them and they ate "with gladness and singleness of heart." The sense of the Greek phrase is that they participated with abounding or exuberant joy and simplicity of heart. Simplicity and openness is one of the greatest assets in building strong interpersonal relationships.

Throughout history Christians have maintained this high desire for communication with each other. They have developed intense personal interests in each other’s lives. They have helped fellow believers to stronger faith and greater courage and endurance under trial. All such activities knit them closer and closer in the bonds of love.

Modern Times

One strong distinguishing feature of the Bible Student movement of the past 125 years has been the concept of regular conventions. From the first such gathering in Chicago in 1893, the concept of conventions has spread world-wide with well over one hundred being held annually in cities throughout the world. Many of those in the United States and Canada are listed on the inside back page of each issue of THE HERALD.

While each of these gatherings has a full schedule of presentations on biblical topics, they also provide time for Christian fellowship. This fellowship allows the opportunity for detailed discussion of scriptural themes, but also much is gained by getting to know one another in depth. Not only do we, as the hymn phrases it, "share each other’s woes; each other’s burdens bear," but such fellowship also provides an opportunity to rejoice with each other (1 Cor. 12:26). As with the early church, this is done with much "gladness and singleness of heart."

In addition to laughing and crying together, such intimate communication permits each Christian to learn valuable lessons from the experiences of his brother or sister. Lessons from the life of one’s fellows can be invaluable. This is specially true of the faithful ones whose lives are recorded for us in the Bible. We read of the values of the examples of such experiences in James 5:10, "Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience."

In this issue of THE HERALD we are going to spend some time "breaking bread" with some of our brethren of the early church. Many names of our brethren from the first century are given in the New Testament. Some, like the apostles, are very prominent, while others, like those catalogued in Romans 16, have only cameo roles to play. The ten selected for this issue are arbitrary. The authors were given freedom to choose the characters of their choice and introduce us to some of these brethren who lived nearly 2000 years ago. As James speaks of the blessing of knowing of "the patience of Job" (James 5:11), so may we be uplifted as we read of the sweet devotion of Mary Magdalene, the martyr’s witness of Stephen, the friendly helpfulness of Aquila and Priscilla, the open hospitality of Lydia, the golden tongue of Apollos, the missionary zeal of Titus, the pathos of the runaway slave Onesimus returning to his master Philemon, and the positive spirit of Gaius.