“And when he had given thanks, he
broke it and said, ‘Take eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this
in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner, He also took the cup after supper,
saying, ‘this cup is new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in
remembrance of Me.”—I Corinthians 11:24-25
Countries around the world have a
day of Remembrance that is celebrated. In America, Remembrance Day is celebrated as
Memorial Day. It is a day of remembrance for those who have
died in our nation’s service. It is good
to remember that freedom was not FREE.
Many people have died in service to their county, and so we set the day
aside to commemorate their sacrifices.
A memorial service is an event that
takes place after the person has died, in order to preserve the memory of that
person. Jesus’ instituted the Lord’s
Supper as a memorial for the Church. The
Lord’s Supper is the ordinance of the Lord in which gathered believers eat
bread and drink either wine or juice. The
symbolic breaking of the bread refers to His body being broken for us, and the
drinking of the cup is symbolic of the blood of Jesus shed for the new covenant. We do this in remembrance of the Lord and
thereby proclaiming His death until He comes.
Those who drink in a worthy manner partake of Christ’s body and blood
not physically but spiritually in that by faith they are nourished with the
benefits obtained by His death and thus grow in grace. The Scriptures tell us that as often as we
partake of the Lord’s Supper we then proclaim the Lord’s death. The
curse of sickness and disease was removed from us when Jesus took our pains and
suffered the punishment for our sins upon the cross. His blood was shed so that we could receive
forgiveness of sins and enter into a new covenant based upon better promises. When we symbolically eat and drink of the
communion elements we are affirming that our freedom is not FREE, and that the
debt has been PAID. We celebrate what
Jesus has done in our behalf (I Corinthians 11:23-34).
This Memorial Day of Remembrance let
it be one of celebration and honor for the debt that has been paid for your
freedom.
Prayer—Father
I thank you for the debt that was paid so that I can be free, in Jesus Name.
Amen.
