By Ed White
“Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10, New King James Version).
God has always placed a premium on faithfulness. Please notice that Jesus didn’t say, “Be sinless until death.” That is a standard none of us could achieve.
The Greek word hamartia is one of the words translated “sin” in the New Testament. It means “to miss the mark.” Of course, the plain truth is that every one of us misses the mark set by Jesus. We miss it by a mile. Jesus died for us because we needed a Savior. We could not save ourselves.
Jesus was perfect. We mess up all the time. Jesus set the standard for godly living. God doesn’t demand that we reach that mark, only that we strive toward it faithfully “until death.” If we do that, we will receive “the crown of life” (James 1:12).
The early Christians understood that part of being faithful included the weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper. Paul tells us that “they continued steadfastly [or faithfully] in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). “Breaking of bread” refers to the Lord’s Supper. They observed it faithfully “on the first day of the week” (Acts 20:7).
We should not allow anything short of a desperate illness to keep us away from the Lord’s table each week. Let us determine to be faithful until death in serving him, worshipping him, and observing the Lord’s Supper.
Ed White is a retired Christian minister. He earned degrees from Mid-South Christian College, Alabama Christian School of Religion, and the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He lives in Milledgeville, Ga. His book of Communion meditations, Come to the Table, is available from Amazon.
Author: Christian Standard
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