More than an Observance

The Lord's Supper~more than an observance, more than a ritual, more than just eating a little cracker and drinking some grape juice. I have always loved this particular observance that we as Baptists do.... I like the fellowship time, the communion aspect, but even more importantly I like the symbolic nature of the event.

So last night at church we celebrated a time of communion. And boy was it a sweet time. Our pastor did such a good job of reminding us why we do it and what it means to us. As he has said before, it is about memory care. Remembering.....

But I think this is one of the first times that I can remember that a pastor mentioned that this was not only for those who are followers of Christ, but that we need to be doing it with pure and humble hearts. With no unconfessed sin left out there to separate us. And that through Christ's worthiness are we allowed to be worthy to take part of his body and his blood.

And then he went on to talk about how in Exodus the Lord provided the manna, the bread of life for the Israelites. And how this manna was provided daily and how it laid upon the dew, not upon the ground, the dirt. Just like Christ in his perfection came to earth, but was not influenced by the sin of the world.

Once we eat the bread and drink the juice, it doesn't just fall away from us, it becomes a part of us.... You can no longer separate the two... for we have become one! What a marvelous image.

I was also struck as I was sitting there holding the little juice cup, how red the juice is... just like Christ's blood... so I know that if I spill something red on my clothing, like ketchup, just how hard that is to wash clean. There always seems to be a remnant of that ketchup left on my clothing. But only through the power of the blood, are we washed whiter than snow... no remnant of sin left, only pure, white! WOW!