Communion service: a humble beginning can become something big
Communion service moments may look ordinary, but God often works through humble beginnings. This meditation points to how God can use quiet reflection, repentance, and focus on Jesus’ sacrifice to renew and redirect a believer’s heart.
- Humble beginnings can lead to enormous impact.
- Communion may look ordinary, but God can do deep work in these moments.
- Approach the Lord’s Supper with forgiveness, focus, repentance, and openness to the Spirit.
Latitude 23.3° north, longitude 75.5° west.
It’s just a tiny little spot on the globe, holding no significance whatsoever until August 23, 2005. It was on that day, at that spot, that some storm clouds collided and formed the very beginnings of what would eventually become Hurricane Katrina. Experts say as she churned across the Gulf of Mexico in the following days, she produced energy equivalent to 100,000 atomic bombs.1 Is it any wonder we saw such devastation?
Big things often have humble beginnings
Big things often have humble beginnings. Like the Oscar-winning actor whose first leading role was in a Sunday school play. Or the Grammy-winning musician who got his start on a rented instrument in the fifth-grade band.
Of course, the ultimate example would be Jesus’ birth. His arrival in this world was so quiet and inconspicuous that people in the nearby inn were completely oblivious. Imagine his first cries. I doubt they were strong enough to carry beyond the sheep pen where his mother and father were hunkered down. Yet, from that same voice box would eventually come words that would forever alter the course of history.
Yes, big things often have humble beginnings.
Approaching Communion with the right heart
Perhaps this Communion service could be the humble beginning of something big in your life. I say “humble beginning” because there’s nothing flashy or flamboyant about sitting quietly while drinking a little juice and eating a small piece of bread. It’s the one part of our weekly worship routine that almost never produces any excitement. But something big could still happen in your heart if you approach these moments the right way.
By laying aside any hard feelings you may be harboring, by clearing your mind of distractions so you can focus on Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, by examining your life with an eye toward repentance, and by opening your heart to the Holy Spirit, you could emerge from this quiet Communion service a much better Christian.
Many believers have repented while sharing in the Lord’s Supper. Many have had their strength renewed. Many have chosen to redirect or recommit their lives. Don’t be fooled by the humble nature of the Communion service. Big things will be happening during these next few moments.
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1 Ivor van Heerden and Mike Bryan, The Storm (New York: Viking, 2006), 13.
Mark Atteberry’s most recent book, So Much More Than Sexy! is available from Standard Publishing.
