The Purpose of Communion

The Purpose of Communion

And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

I Corinthians 11:24

Christ has a purpose for everything which He does and for everything which He teaches us to do.  With Christ there is no ‘busy work,’ simply to fill time.  As we continue to consider the communion feast, we arrive at the discussion of the purpose for which Christ instituted it.  He says plainly, ‘Do this in remembrance of me.’  We might think this strange, considering that the event to which Christ is referring means the difference for us between blessing and cursing; salvation and damnation; Heaven and Hell.  How could we forget Him Who accomplished this on our behalf?  Christ knows that, because of our frailty, our weakness, and our humanity, we will be inclined to forget Him.  For that reason, Christ has given us the communion feast.  His explicit statement of purpose is, ‘Do this in remembrance of me.’  As we participate in the feast, we look at the bread and wine, and see the broken Body and shed Blood of Our Beloved Savior.  By these symbols we remember Him, ‘till He comes.’  We eat the bread and drink the wine as testimony to the fact that we have tasted and seen that the Lord is good.  By this, we remember the cost of our redemption and the One Who paid the price.  Let us come to the communion table with Christ before us and ‘do this in remembrance of Me.’

Our Kind and Loving Savior,
we praise You that You have given unto us
such a tangible reminder of all that You have done for us.
We rejoice that in this simple way
we can remember You until that day when we see You Face to face.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning