I’ve decided to resurrect this blog and to use it as my journaling space. I often prefer to think “out loud,” so I’m going to do that here.
I’ve been reading this book called, “The Rest Of The Gospel” by Dan somebody. It’s not that he’s not important. I just can’t remember off the top of my head. It’s been radically changing the way I look at my life in Christ and my walk with him. I feel like for the first time I am grasping things that should’ve been made aware (or obvious) to me as a new believer. It’s as if I didn’t know Jesus before. I knew about him. I had read the stories, identified with them, and even prayed for the “greater things” to happen in my time, but it’s as if I didn’t truly see (or believe) what he was saying. I feel like saying now, “You mean all those things you said are true?
It’s changing the way I look at communion too. I love communion. I always have. Before this book, though I would look at it as mostly a time of confession, a purging of my weekly sins. One problem was that I could never think of them all, and I wasn’t experiencing lasting change. The other is that I also wasn’t experiencing life- abundant, sweet, promised LIFE!
The Lord’s supper is not just about confession and forgiveness. It is communion – relationship- with God. It’s about sitting down with the one who knows you completely, perfectly and letting your guard down. It’s about boldly coming before the throne of God. We can do that because He loves us and He’s invited us. There, at the table, before His thrown, we receive our life…or just the reminder that we carry this life within us. He has given us everything at the Cross. All that he could ever give is ours now. All the Love that He will ever bestow on us we have now. All the forgiveness that we will ever need (for our ENTIRE lives) we have now.
At the table we sit down with the One who lives within us. He sees us exactly as we are- who He created us to be. He reminds us of that. He wipes off the junk of this world that we seem to pick up along the way and He puts us back on our way for another week. He reminds us that we carry His Life within us. And we begin to truly believe.
He is the vine. We are the branches. We have been grafted into a life that was not our own. Our old vine (life) does not exist anymore. He has transplanted us from that dead, fruitless vine to His living, promise-filled, fruitful vine. Now His life flows through our vine to make us grow and look more like him.
I understood in head knowledge the idea of communion being an intimate time with God as a body. I didn’t understand so much about the sacraments themselves. Why blood? Why his body? I kept thinking, “Doesn’t the rest of the world think we’re cannibals? Why did he use this symbolism?’ And recently I got it.
We partake in His body and His blood because when we come to Him our spirit is made alive for the first time. Romans said, “I am crucified with Christ, therefore I no longer live. Jesus Christ now lives in me.” He has grafted us into His body. It’s our reminder that we do not exist anymore. sure we still have an earthly body and a mind, but it’s just a vessel- a jar of clay- that He can move through. We are one with Him. That’s why we partake of His body. And we drink of His blood because blood is what is the essence of our lives. It carries life to every part of our bodies. We need His blood- His life- to flow through us. Without it we would be trying to live in our own strength- producing works in our own strength. There would be no life. And without Life we are dead.
Thank you Lord for Life- Your life in me. Thank you that you live in me and have named me a co-heir with you. Thank you for revealing more of who you are through your word to me. I’m thirsty for more. Amen.
