The purpose of the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:20) or Communion (1 Corinthians 10:16) is to commemorate (1 Corinthians 11:24-25) and proclaim the Lord’s death until He returns (1 Corinthians 11:26). After all, the vicarious, sacrificial death of the Son of God on Calvary’s cross is a cardinal facet of Christianity. With the blood of Jesus (Ephesians 1:7; Revelation 1:5) are the children of God redeemed (Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 1:8) or purchased (Acts 20:28) from sin. This aspect of Christianity is so crucial that God saw fit that the church of Lord would observe the Lord’s Supper weekly on the first day of each week (Acts 20:7). The Lord’s Supper is so important that Christians are cautioned on how to or how not to observe it (1 Corinthians 11:27-32).
In addition, partaking of the Lord’s Supper has special meaning to me. Observing the Communion is a habitual, weekly affirmation that I believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God (John 8:24), descended from heaven and died for me so that I could entertain the hope of spending forever in heaven (John 14:1-3; 2 Corinthians 5:1; Hebrews 11:10, 14-16; 13:14). Our Lord died so that the world could be saved (John 3:16; 1 Timothy 1:15; 1 John 2:2; 4:17).
Furthermore, every time I partake of the Lord’s Supper, I sense a renewal of a pledge of allegiance to Jesus Christ. In essence, we who observe the Communion acknowledge afresh that our Messiah, the Son of God, died in our stead for our sins. We, then, ought to be willing to die if necessary for Him. That should engender and reinvigorate in us each first day of the week our heartfelt, whole being commitment to serve Jesus Christ foremost and first before all others (Matthew 10:37) and before anything (Matthew 6:33). We are Christians before we are spouses, before we are parents, before we are children, before we are employees or employers, before we are citizens, etc. What a difference such a widespread attitude would make in the church! What an impact Christians with such a mental disposition followed by corresponding physical activity could have on the world!
Each time I observe the Lord’s Supper I am left with the overriding sense of obligation to live for Jesus Christ. The apostle Peter in particular was willing to die for Christ (Matthew 26:35; John 18:10), but he found it immensely more difficult to live for Christ (Matthew 26:69-75). As hard as it would be for us to die for Jesus, like it was for the apostle Peter, it is vastly more difficult for us to live for Jesus. Yet, that is precisely what each child of God must do. Every time I partake of the Lord’s Supper, I am reminded that I am obligated to live for my Lord.
Each occasion I eat that bread representing Jesus’ body (Matthew 26:26) and drink the fruit of the vine representing His shed blood (Matthew 26:27), I am acknowledging my debt to Him—and my obligation to serve our Lord faithfully and actively. Taking of the Lord’s Supper is not some lightly observed mere routine, but it is a declaration that echoes in heaven itself and should resound around the world that God has an army on earth peopled with valiant and courageous soldiers who are wholly dedicated to carrying out their marching orders.
