08/20/2017
We say we are Christians but continue to live our lives of faith like suits of clothes; we treat our belief in Christ lightly and only let it brush up against our skin, when we should actually be taking Jesus into our very being, our hearts, making our faith like the communion meal reveals... part of us.
“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Ephesians 3:14-19 ESV
We should be filled... I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior at an early age, but after that first confession of belief I spent years wearing Him about me, and only letting Him touch my skin, I let Him reach into my heart when it was convenient or necessary. I hung Him in the closet when it wasn't convenient. My faith and who I was were like oil and water that when shaken appeared to be one liquid, but when allowed to sit for any period of time separated once again. Jesus doesn't want this kind of faith... He will accept it as your first step towards knowing Him, but then He wants us to be transformed... not just on the outside, but all the way through.
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV
My question for each of us to consider this morning is this... am I stuck wearing Jesus like a suit of clothes, or am I being transformed into His image? You see, we can listen to His words offered to the Apostles during the first communion and not understand the depth of what he was saying. We think He meant to literally remember Him, but when we consume Him it changes us inside... it nourishes us and sustains us; He becomes our own body, just as the food we eat each day does, and then He goes further as His spirit transforms ours.
“Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.”
John 6:53-55 KJV
Whether you argue that the communion bread and wine changes literally into the body and blood of Christ as you consume it (transubstantiation) or like some feel is simply figurative... the underlying truth remains... this meal is more than simple remembrance it represents the transformation of our own selves, and not just on the outside... body, spirit, and soul.
“Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.”
1 Corinthians 11:27-29 KJV
These are strong words that are meant to shake us out of our "suit of clothes" mentality and convict us regarding the true meaning of communion... we are to be transformed entirely as we partake of Christ.
Tremble with me this morning... fear God and allow Him to reach into your very heart. Lay your suit of clothes aside and ask Him to come into you in a new way, and clothe you in the glory of Himself. Adam and Eve clothed themselves because they were ashamed... let the Lord clothe you in grace and righteousness today... no shame, no oil and water faith, but the pure wine and broken bread of Jesus as He transforms us to be as He is.
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for the transformative power of faith, and the body and blood of your Son Jesus Christ that we eat in remembrance of Him. I thank you Father for the nourishment that this Holy Meal embodies, and ask that you never let it become like any other Meal to me as I consume Him... accepting Him into me. Lord, let your Holy Spirit fill me and convict me as I become more and more like Jesus with each passing day; partaking of Him and allowing Him to take residence in every part of who I am. Praised be your name Father for allowing me a way of knowing you, and changing myself completely in the process. You are merciful, and full of grace; your love for me overshadows all I am and all I will ever be. You touch my skin, and then fill my body and soul with the love of Jesus... keep me Holy Father, and never let me feel as though you can be taken off like a suit of clothes, but remain with me forever like the brown of my eyes... unchanging, and with me always.
Rich Forbes