By Sandy Mayle
Many people who work in the city choose to live in the country. They often find, though, that over time the city comes to them, as urban sprawl creeps their way. Where five years ago they could have eaten their lunch in the middle of their country road, now cars speed to and from new subdivisions.
As a result, intersections bristle with new stop signs, and locals who once happily breezed through must now come to a full-stop. It’s necessary in order to ensure the well-being of everyone involved.
Communion is a kind of stop sign in the flow of our days. Here we who are busy are reminded that our speed must be checked, for the benefit of ourselves and those around us. Even those of us who live quieter lives because of age or illness must not ignore this holy stop sign. Communion is for every one of us, because we’re all inclined to look around and fret over things that aren’t getting done. We each grow burdened and weary at times. We become self-absorbed and forget we continually need a Savior. We become shortsighted and fail to remember the price Christ paid for our eternal life. So we need to regularly power down, come to Jesus, and re-focus on him.
In fact, Communion is an observance that deserves even more than a stop sign! Maybe a long red light, because there’s so much traffic surrounding our Lord’s sacrifice for us: Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples in the Upper Room, his agony in Gethsemane, his arrest, trial, crucifixion and resurrection—and all of that intersects with our own salvation story and what his death has meant for us personally since we repented of our sin, found assurance of his forgiveness, and then followed him as the Lord of our life.
So today I urge you to bring your mind and spirit to a stop; not a rolling stop but a full stop. As you once again hear the scriptural invitation to Communion, ask the Lord to show you something wonderful about Jesus and something powerful about this observance that you’ve never realized before.
Don’t barrel through this holy stop sign. Stop and be still and remember what Christ has done for you, and for us all.
Sandy Mayle is a freelance writer who lives in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Contact us at cs@christianstandardmedia.com
0 Comments