Amazing Grace
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. (Mark 14:22-24)
All the lifetimes in the universe don’t contain enough time to ponder the miracle of salvation. Throughout the ages, the Church has observed communion to mark the importance of what Jesus has done for us.
The bread we eat represents the Lord’s body, given for our sins. The wine we drink symbolizes His blood, shed for the forgiveness of all who have been saved by grace. When we participate in the act of communion, we meditate on the price Jesus paid for our salvation and give thanks for His great mercy.
Jesus knew the cost of sin could be no less than death, because God’s holiness simply cannot let unrighteousness remain unpunished. His love, however, is even greater than His need for justice. Because our heavenly Father knows that none of us can sufficiently atone for our own transgressions and appear before Him unblemished, God was willing to become flesh and blood in the form of His only beloved Son, living among us as a humble Teacher from the insignificant town of Nazareth. Jesus was willing to suffer the humiliation of death on the cross for sins. He did not commit. He was forsaken by His Father for people who had rejected His love and mercy.
The God we serve loves us more than life itself. To save us from the choices we make and from the path of eternal damnation that we persist on following, He abandoned His perfect Son on a Friday afternoon.
The sun stopped shining, and an impenetrable darkness was felt in all of Israel. Jesus endured being forsaken by God so that we never have to know what it feels like to be separated from Him. Not even in the darkest moments of our lives. Jesus has promised to be with us until the end of the world.
He is faithful, even when we are not. He is good, even though we are not. We have done nothing to earn God’s forgiveness, yet it is ours all the same. That is His amazing grace.
Image from Biblword
"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn written by John Newton, celebrating redemption and the transformative power of divine grace.
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.
Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come.
'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far.
And grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.
Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.
When we've been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise.
Than when we first begun
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