Remember
“For the Lord will pass through the land to strike down the Egyptians. But when He sees the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe, the Lord will pass over your home. He will not permit His death angel to enter your house and strike you down. Remember, these instructions are a permanent law that you and your descendants must observe forever. When you enter the land the Lord has promised to give you, you will continue to observe this ceremony. Then your children will ask, ‘What does this ceremony mean?’ And you will reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for He passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. And though He struck the Egyptians, He spared our families.’” When Moses had finished speaking, all the people bowed down to the ground and worshiped. – Exodus 12:23-27
He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then He broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is My body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” – Luke 22:19
When I read the verses above, I am struck by the movement from the Old Testament to the New Testament. We know that Jesus was the total fulfillment of the law, saving us from death. It is almost overwhelming. Actually, it is overwhelming when you begin to grasp the significance of what God did for the Israelites, and what Jesus did for each of us. But as overwhelming as it is, we can tend to grow accustomed to what happened and lose the significance of it. As what happened becomes commonplace, the impact decreases, causing the significance to decrease. As the significance decreases, we stop telling the story. Then we begin to live our lives without remembering what we have.
I believe that’s one reason that Moses instructed the Israelites to keep the ceremony and to tell the story. The ceremony created intentionality. Intentionality helps the story retain its meaning. Storytelling can be powerful. I remember as a child sitting around the table after meals, especially big family meals, and listening to my Dad and his brothers and sisters talk about past events. I had one specific uncle who was a storyteller. The people of my family, many that I had never met, came alive around the table during those times. Honestly, now that I’m older, I often wish I had listened better to the stories told on both sides of my family. I long to know parts of my history that I don’t remember now.
I believe that God knew then that we tend to forget, losing the impact of things that happened in the past. And He knew just how important it was going to be for His children to remember what He did, because it showed just how very much He loves them. He loved the Israelites. He saved them. He brought them out. And He wanted them to remember. He knew how important it would be for their children to remember, to not lose the significance of how very much He loved them. And He wanted them, centuries later, to be able to make the connection between Passover and the death and resurrection of Jesus.
He wants that for us too. Even though I did not grow up celebrating Passover, I did grow up celebrating communion. And as a child, I did not understand the full significance of what it represented. But, even as a child, I did understand that it was a special time, a holy time, that we were celebrating. As I grew older, I had a foundation to build on. I was able to begin to grasp the significance of what I was celebrating. A foundation had been laid for me to begin to realize just how very much I was loved by the Father.
If we aren’t careful, the act of communion can become commonplace. But if we continue to practice it and pause to remind ourselves of what we are celebrating by telling the story, sharing the history, it stays alive to us. And we can truly step into fellowship with the God of the universe who gave His Son for us. We step into fellowship with His Son, who died for us. As we do that, we step into the power of communion. We begin to realize just how much we are truly loved. That’s a strong story to tell our children. It’s a strong story to remind ourselves of. So, as you go about your daily life, make it a practice to tell the story, to others, and to yourself.
You might even want to pause now and remind yourself of the story of what God has done for you. Personalize it. Remind yourself of the things God has done for you and for your family. Remind yourself of the power of communion. And walk in that power today.
He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then He broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is My body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” – Luke 22:19
When I read the verses above, I am struck by the movement from the Old Testament to the New Testament. We know that Jesus was the total fulfillment of the law, saving us from death. It is almost overwhelming. Actually, it is overwhelming when you begin to grasp the significance of what God did for the Israelites, and what Jesus did for each of us. But as overwhelming as it is, we can tend to grow accustomed to what happened and lose the significance of it. As what happened becomes commonplace, the impact decreases, causing the significance to decrease. As the significance decreases, we stop telling the story. Then we begin to live our lives without remembering what we have.
I believe that’s one reason that Moses instructed the Israelites to keep the ceremony and to tell the story. The ceremony created intentionality. Intentionality helps the story retain its meaning. Storytelling can be powerful. I remember as a child sitting around the table after meals, especially big family meals, and listening to my Dad and his brothers and sisters talk about past events. I had one specific uncle who was a storyteller. The people of my family, many that I had never met, came alive around the table during those times. Honestly, now that I’m older, I often wish I had listened better to the stories told on both sides of my family. I long to know parts of my history that I don’t remember now.
I believe that God knew then that we tend to forget, losing the impact of things that happened in the past. And He knew just how important it was going to be for His children to remember what He did, because it showed just how very much He loves them. He loved the Israelites. He saved them. He brought them out. And He wanted them to remember. He knew how important it would be for their children to remember, to not lose the significance of how very much He loved them. And He wanted them, centuries later, to be able to make the connection between Passover and the death and resurrection of Jesus.
He wants that for us too. Even though I did not grow up celebrating Passover, I did grow up celebrating communion. And as a child, I did not understand the full significance of what it represented. But, even as a child, I did understand that it was a special time, a holy time, that we were celebrating. As I grew older, I had a foundation to build on. I was able to begin to grasp the significance of what I was celebrating. A foundation had been laid for me to begin to realize just how very much I was loved by the Father.
If we aren’t careful, the act of communion can become commonplace. But if we continue to practice it and pause to remind ourselves of what we are celebrating by telling the story, sharing the history, it stays alive to us. And we can truly step into fellowship with the God of the universe who gave His Son for us. We step into fellowship with His Son, who died for us. As we do that, we step into the power of communion. We begin to realize just how much we are truly loved. That’s a strong story to tell our children. It’s a strong story to remind ourselves of. So, as you go about your daily life, make it a practice to tell the story, to others, and to yourself.
You might even want to pause now and remind yourself of the story of what God has done for you. Personalize it. Remind yourself of the things God has done for you and for your family. Remind yourself of the power of communion. And walk in that power today.
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