As a teenager, long before I surrendered my life to Christ, I was very aware that I sensed the Lord's Presence during Communion, or the Lord's Supper. Our denomination required two years of instruction in the Christian faith before we could receive Communion at age thirteen. After this confirmation process, I was allowed to join with the adults. In the church we go to now, we celebrate the Lord's Supper at every service, which we love. Today, let's take a few moments to consider something the apostle Paul wrote about the Lord's Supper to the congregation in Corinth:
For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, 'This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.' For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.” (1 Cor. 11:23-26)
For the first fifteen centuries of its existence, the Lord's Supper was the center of the worship service...and then came the Reformation. Many good and essential truths came out of the Reformation but one thing that changed is that preaching and singing became the center of congregational worship. This has led us to focus on the preaching skills of pastors or the drawing power of programs, rather than a celebration of the glorious death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul closes today's passage by saying, “Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it. For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.” In light of these Scriptures, it’s clear that God likes it when we celebrate Communion and that congregations should do it regularly. I often say that the main thing is to keep the Main Thing the main thing.
Today, take time to meditate on the Main Thing. Consider Jesus' broken body and His shed blood. God didn't spare His Son but gave Him so that we might be reconciled to Him and proclaim Him together. This is powerful and life-changing...and very Good News!
“When the bottom falls out and disappointments come, you will learn what you believe, what you love, and what you treasure.”