The hardest choice of them all
23For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." 25In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." 26For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
27Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.
[I must confess that part of this message has its roots in the Communion service I attended yesterday, and it’s only here in the blog because I realized that a lot of times, we simply forget or fail to think about the awesome complexity of the Lord’s Table. ]
Let us go back in time shall we? Back to those days when God gave men the list of do’s and don’ts. The underlying theme shows through. There is no forgiveness without the shedding of innocent blood. The Bible has always been particular about the sanctity of blood. So much in fact, that God commanded the people of Israel to have cities of refuge so that no innocent blood would be shed without cause.
Meanwhile, for every sin that one committed, he/she went to the priest with a sin offering, and the ceremony included the priest ‘transferring’ the sin of that individual onto the animal or bird and then killing it. Teaches us something about how much God hates sin, doesn’t it? The Old Testament laws could not be clearer. Eye for an eye. Tooth for a tooth. I don’t know about you, but I alone could possibly have made sure the turtle dove became extinct were I born in those times.
But here we are. Beneficiaries of God’s profound grace, thanks to the Man who made it all possible. You see, ever since Adam and Eve sinned against God in the Garden of Eden, we’d lost it. The very purpose for which God created man, foiled. God created us in His likeness, to share an everlasting life with Him, which meant there was no place for sin. But… And remember – there’s no point in blaming Adam and Eve for what happened there because you and I would have done in the same mistake anyway. Being able to think for ourselves somehow means we end up doing what is wrong, almost always.
God decided there was but one way. He had to come down and give His life. His innocent blood had to be shed, because there was no other way we could enjoy what we’d been created for. Says a lot about God’s reasons for creating you and I doesn’t it? He desires our company, no matter how difficult it is to believe. And of course, truth is always stranger than fiction – one reason no teacher would believe why you haven’t done your homework when you were in school.
And it happened. Not immediately; God waited over 2500 years before He came down. Says a lot about His perfect timing, if you’d only just think about it. It’s amazing how interconnected the Bible actually is. By the time God came down in our likeness, He fulfilled everything that had been written about Him. Next time you go bananas wondering why something hasn’t happened, keep this in mind. He knows when.
God came down, with the intention of dying for us so we could live. For eternity. But still, He had to endure agonizing moments as a human. Tortured. Beaten. Whipped. Spat upon. Crowned with thorns. Nailed and hung on a hard wooden cross. And yet, it hurt Him more, being associated with sin. Our sin. And He endured it all without a sound. So great was His love.
All I ask, to anyone who is reading this blog, is to remember what He went through. The agony He felt, when sin separated Him from His beloved Father. The same sin which separates us from Him. Remember to treat the Lord’s Table with respect; Because the Bible says so. Come into His presence in a manner worthy of acceptance. A life of eternity and glory awaits us, and all because He chose the hardest choice of them all.
The golden apple, and five small stones.
One moment of mistrust. A shadow of a doubt. What if…? One small thought that went contrary to what God promised… Ever paused to see the results in the Bible? They’re frightening to say the least.
Of course, it isn’t always our fault completely. Remember the garden of Eden? Satan asked Eve a question when she was alone in the garden, of which, her answer shows us just how God expects us to believe Him – with no questions asked. But things didn’t stop there did they? Satan did nothing – just gave her the shadow of a doubt, and it nagged her so much, it ended with her eating of the fruit of the tree God had specifically commanded not to eat of. The rest we know, is human history from the time it all started. But it never did stop there.
There are scores of examples. Abraham was promised a son – a covenant where God took the place of the inferior party, and when it got delayed, Abraham, the father of faith though he was, took things upon himself and brought to the world the race that quite possibly hates Christians more than any other. Or Rachel. Or even King Saul. Samuel got delayed the king decided to take things into his hands.
I really don’t understand why I’ve got a problem with acting out my belief. I trust my life to Him. And yet, one moment of weak faith; One challenge by Jezebel, and I flee for my life. And all God did ask was faith the size of a mustard seed. Small, but dense. Pure. Unblemished.
To those of you who know what I’m talking about, here’s a small something the Lord showed me. Make no mistake. I’ve been reading of the life of David ever since well, I started reading the Bible. There’s something so awesome about a boy fighting a giant(note: by then, I couldn’t possibly have known what a giant was – to me, dad’s older brother was towering enough and for all practical purposes, Goliath was well, as tall as periyappa.) when you’re a little boy that you start reading the bible from there. Anyway, not once did I pay attention all these years to the single most important part of his life – the time God took to fulfill the promise in his life.
David was a youngster when he defeated Goliath. ‘Course the Lord was with him, but fact remains, he was around 15 or 16 when he killed him. He did experience a sudden shoot up as far as his hall-of-fame meter went. He practically shot up to glory from being an almost non-existent shepherd boy when Saul wanted him to play the harp for him (Okay, now you know why I like him so much) and soon enough, when the Goliath incident happened, he shot through the roof so fast Saul noticed.
Just pausing for a second at the first time David entered the palace, I can’t help thinking. I’ve been there. Something about God’s promises. Soon after the promise, you see something which looks like the realization of the promise, but it probably isn’t. In David’s life, it couldn’t have been farther from the truth. Just imagine. Entering into the palace for the first time, considering he was young, David could well have thought that in no time, God’s anointing would start working, and crash, boom bang! There he was, sitting on the throne. Sure, that’s the stuff dreams are made of.
But no. It took years, and I mean years of hardships and scores of psalms about his Maker before David came to the throne. Nearly twenty years in fact(II Sam 5:4). Says a lot doesn't it? Trust Him, even if it is hard to see yourself living the next day. You and I can go back on our word, but He can't.
