Sunday, January 08, 2006

The Body and The Blood

Today was communion Sunday at our church (I sometimes wish we had the chance to take it more often, but that is another post for another time), and I was so thankful for the Lord reminding me of why we receive both the bread and wine (juice). I have so often thought of communion as being predominantly about sin and forgiveness of sin, and that is clearly represented by the wine, Christ's blood shed to cover our sins. But why the bread? Why His body broken for us? Wasn't the cross mostly about paying the cost of our sins? Christ calls us to celebrate both the blood and the body because His body was broken to give us life, to take care of our Sin nature, which was the source of our sins. He not only pays for the outworking of our Sin, but He gives His very life that we might be transformed from the inside out. His work is not just a cleansing scrub, but a life-altering, spirit-birthing creation of something new in us that once was not there. "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come." I was thankful today that not only did my Lord give me forgiveness, but He gave me life, remade me, and I no longer have to depend on my resources to "live the Christian life." He has given me life and asks me to declare my dependence on it each day.

2 comments:

Burly said...

In the far East probably rice makes sense ... what's a staple food for us ... that's the one that might make the most sense. We are priviledged/cursed to have so many options, probably best to just stick with bread. It just wouldn't seem right to get Welch's and a piece of power bar. Our church does communion every Sunday, but I echo Miles in thinking it could be more of an everyday thing ... esp. since at my church the believing children don't have the opportunity to take communion during the service. What's up Marshall?

Marshall said...

What up, Burly! Thanks for reading