The Essence of Holiness
The lovely lady made her way up the aisle. Tepid her steps were—yet straight the path before her appeared. Stability at its finest hour was upon her and the one who closely followed took care that she was in good hands.
Not so sure footed she was and he knew. When she swayed, he swayed and his arms reached to redirect. When she took a misstep, he made sure his took its place as he led from behind.
Tenderly he stood in the gap when the moments were uncertain.
Arriving at their destination, his hands reached under hers as the small portion of bread was placed within her palms. Gently she lifted it to her lips as communion with her Lord was served.
It was His body, given for her—done in remembrance of Him and the lovely lady received.
As He entered in—in the form of bread and wine, she responded to the call sent forth from John 6:53. “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.”
Sounds believable alright but not all believed as John 6:60-69 tells us. “Many of the disciples of Jesus who were listening said, ‘This saying is hard; who can accept it?’ Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, ‘Does this shock you? … The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.’ Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him. As a result, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer walked with him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, ‘Do you also want to leave?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’” And His followers followed, and the lovely lady received and those who followed after also received and so it went and so it goes.
“It’s all about a personal relationship,” is how some describe faith. And yet it doesn’t get much more personal than eating and drinking the Supper of the Lamb. Sometimes we forget when we take things into our own hands and use words to explain what our finite minds are trying to grasp. Best to use His Word—His glorious, infinite Word.
And how does one take that which was broken for you? According to 1Cor. 11:27 one must take it worthily. And how is one worthy? Simply follow the lead of the one serving the Supper of the Lamb and take it in. With a contrite heart of confession one may receive. What about the next time? What if we stumble and fall? We begin anew with what the Almighty can do.
And when you “knock, the door will be opened” (Matt:7:78). His hand will not only be upon you but under you—and He will lead gently from behind— supporting—standing in the gap—offering stability when needed after a misstep. Follow His lead. Amen.
