Partaking of the Lord’s Supper is a very important action when we come together as brothers and sisters in Christ. While it is true the Lord is with us always, the Supper is a very special, intimate time that we share with our Lord. As we partake of the Lord’s Supper we bear witness to the body of believers in Christ. No one is inferior, and no one is superior. We are all one in Christ. The ground is always level at the foot of the cross of Jesus. When we gather at His Table we recall the gift that brought us here. This backward glance is not a moment of despondency. It is not a moment of self-deprecation. The Cross was not a moment of defeat for Jesus. Rather, it was a moment of glorification. We recall this as His crowning moment in life. When we remember not only the Cross but all of Jesus’ ministry, then we remember the depth of God’s love for us. The Cross is the revelation of love (John 3:16; 1 John 3:16). At the Table I remember that, like the woman caught in adultery and the thief who hung beside the Lord, I am not condemned! When we look backward we see reason to celebrate the victory of God.
By sitting at God’s Table we also look forward to the future. We truly experience the Presence of the risen Christ at the Table, but we also proclaim that His resurrection leads to a time when He will return. In the Supper we have a foretaste of the gloriousness of what Heaven will be like. At the Table of the Lord all the saints of old are gathered in communion with us in anticipation of when we will literally sit at the great banquet in the age to come, once Jesus has gathered all of us home to be with Him. John gives us a glimpse of this “wedding supper of the Lamb” in Revelation 19:9.
- David R. Ferguson preaches for the Lakeland Church of Christ in Mattoon, IL. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://lakelandchurchofchrist.web.officelive.com/default.aspx
No comments:
Post a Comment