Communion

Yesterday I took communion.  The church was solemn.  One by one we received the bread and wine.  When I was handed the cup to partake, a little splashed on my hand.  I looked down and there was a crimson drop on my right thumb.  In my mind's eye I could see His blood there on my hand.  It were as if I had just finished nailing him to the Cross.  The thought sent chills through my body.  But, I realized how much truth was in the idea.  In the truth of things, Christ was sacrificed for my sins, in order that I may receive salvation.

 ⁴ Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. ⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. --Isaiah 53

On my hands lay the blood of my Savior and God.  In part, I am responsible for his death.  How awful.  How disgusting, yet how beautiful.  In his book Edge of Eternity (a modern take on Pilgrim's Progress) Randy Alcorn describes a scene in which his main character pounds nails into the feet of the only one who can help him.  It's incredibly moving, and it gives the reader as sense of what it might be like had we been the ones to nail Christ to the Cross.  It's an terrible thought, yet true, as we are all responsible for His death.

For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. --Isaiah 53:8

The story does not end though.  That is what is so fantastic.  His death brings life!  So, my response should be repentance, humility, and joy.  How awesome, how beautiful.

Blessings,