Monday Morning Devo - Communion?

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." 1 Corinthians 11:23-25, NKJV

Yesterday was World Communion Sunday, and churches across the entire planet celebrated the thing that all Christian religions agree on--taking the wine (or juice) and bread that symbolize the sacrifice Jesus made for us.

There is something about taking communion that really gets to me. That Jesus would use something so simple as a meal to touch His disciples just reaches down deep inside me.

A couple thousand years before Jesus was born, God set the stage with the exodus from Egypt. He was thinking ahead, you see. This became the favorite Hebrew story and is retold in a LOT of the books of the Bible. Why? Because God knew what was coming.

Really, it started even before that. I don't know about the other continents, but most cultures had a blood sacrifice custom to erase offences against the many gods. I'm not so sure God ordained sacrifice, but He definitely took the thinking of that period and turned it to good. Before the time Jesus came along, Jewish shepherds were always looking for the perfect lamb for the altar.

Perfect. There couldn't be a single wound, scar, bump, or otherwise misshapen part on the entire lamb. People were to give their very best animal for the sacrifice. The lamb was dedicated first to God, and the fat and blood were given to God. The innards, cheeks, and shoulder would go to the priests who prepared the sacrifice. The rest went to the person who brought it.

So on that particular Passover, Jesus was to be killed as the perfect Lamb of God. Jesus knew what was coming, and He told His disciples to eat the bread, which represented His body; and drink the wine, which represented the blood, that He would give for them. Plus the most important part--that they were to remember what He did for them EVERY TIME they ate the bread and drank the wine. It's my belief that He intended that each time we have a meal, we should remember what He did. He went voluntarily.

He didn't want to go to the cross, but He did. He didn't want to suffer, but He didn't complain. That's why I want to cry every time I take communion. He did all that for us, and sometimes we don't even give Him a second thought.

My commitment is that I will remember as long as I am able. There may come a time when my brain no longer remembers, but my heart will. Because He loved me first, I will love Him back, and I will remember.

Thank You, Lord. Amen.