As I was preparing some notes for the service I was reflecting on this Scripture in Luke:
Luke 22: 14-19, "When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”"
This last part really got me. Do this in Remembrance of me. Do what? Break bread and drink wine? (Insert juice if wine offends you!) OK I get that. What are we supposed to remember? His death on the cross!
This started me thinking about Gal. 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
You can't remember something you haven't experienced. I can read about WW2 but I didn't experience it so I look at it with a detached view. I hear about my wife's childhood and I love her so I am interested but I have no connection to the events as I did not experience it myself.
The same is true with Jesus. You have either experienced the work He did on the cross for yourself or you haven't. If you have, it is a real event and you have something to truly remember. As Gal. 2:20 says in a nutshell....you were there!
If you haven't accepted His gift....then you can read about it, and remember what you read, but it won't be real to you. Not until you experience it for yourself.
Is Christ real for you?
2 comments:
I really appreciate the clarity of the point you're making here, Rick.
Several years ago I was a guest speaker at YWAM in Cambridge, Ontario. A young woman gave us a tour of the facility, which was a former jail. Her first language was French, but past the accent we could understand the little stories and details she gave us about each stop on the tour, and then she would end each time with, "And you were there."
Well, yes and no. I guess there's a sense in which we could say we'd seen it, and could appreciate the history, but of course, we were never truly "in jail."
But what I like about the verse in Galatians, as you've indicated, is that in every sense we were there. If it doesn't seem like you were, maybe you haven't truly been at the foot of the cross.
Thanks Paul. I appreciate that.
I think we forget sometimes that we were there. I know it is becoming more real to me each day!
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