Category: Get Connected

Last month I wrote about how we are connected with God and each other as we celebrate the Lord ?s Supper each week. Not only do we connect by participating in Jesus ? death through communion, but we also get connected with God as he made peace with us through Jesus ? death. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:13, 14: ?But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. ?

The peace that God has provided through Jesus ? death benefits us in several ways. First, as Paul says, it removes the hostility between mankind and God. Where our sins created a gap between us, God has bridged the gap.

Second, the peace that God provided gives Christians common ground. Paul goes on in Ephesians 4:4-6: ?There is one body and one Spirit ?just as you were called to one hope when you were called one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. ? While we ?re certainly not all the same ?as Paul says in verse 7: ?But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it we all share in the same faith and the same purpose. For that reason, Paul says in verse 3: ?Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ?

Last, the peace that God provided, because it brings unity among Christians, gives us opportunities to share the Good News of that peace with unbelievers. That is, as we come near to God and as we become united with each other in peace, the body of Christ will truly live as God planned. Then, when unbelievers come among us as we worship, they will say, as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 14:25: ?God is really among you! ?

With the election year in full-swing, we ?re experiencing our country ?s most fractious season. Friends, coworkers, and family members seem to be more willing to ?debate ? their differences, and it ?s not always pretty.

Sometimes Sunday mornings can be just as divided, as Christians with varied backgrounds and preferences interact within the worship service and Bible classes. But even with our opinions and traditions, we are part of one body, as Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:4-6: ?There is one body and one Spirit ?just as you were called to one hope when you were called one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. ?

Perhaps the best place to experience that is in communion, as we celebrate the Lord ?s Supper. Unlike elections, which bring people of opposing viewpoints into a common experience for one day and then allows us to stumble back to our corners to grumble and complain for another four years, communion unites individual believers as one body with a common purpose.

That purpose is not simply an act of uniformity. It is not simply a group-wide acknowledgement of Jesus ? sacrifice. It defines us. To be a Christian is to be ?Christ-like. ? In 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, Paul shows how communion does just that: ?Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf. ? As we celebrate the Lord ?s Supper together each week, let us consider how communion helps us get connected with God, through Jesus ? sacrifice, and with each other.