In his book Life Looks Up, Charles Templeton remarks how ironic it is that the course of human history has been affected so positively and negatively by events that have occurred in two small upper rooms. One of them is a drab flat in London's Westside, dirty, curtainless, with stacks of articles on the table and worn manuscripts, aborted attempts wadded up in the trash can. Seated at the table a man labors over a writing, a writing that would overthrow governments, enslave millions of people, and negatively affect the course of history for a generation to come. The man: Karl Marx; his writing: Das Kapital, the handbook for the Communist revolution.

But there's another upper room that also figures in the course of human history: this one located in one of the oldest cities of the world, Jerusalem, and here also there was a table. Thirteen gather at this table to share a meal and to hear the words of a man whose love and sacrifice would make a lasting impact on human history. His message -- that faith in God and love for one another would revolutionize governments and change the lives of countless generations of people to come.

How strange it is that some 1800 years later, Karl Marx would proclaim that strife among people, rigid control of possessions, strict limitation of personal freedom and a move toward a godless society would bring about the perfect world that humanity was seeking. Karl Marx could not see that the kind of life that you and I desire had already been given us. Given to us there in the words of Jesus in that upper room.