The Surrender of Communion
Have you ever seen someone demonstrate the trust-fall? You know, where they stand with their back to someone, close their eyes, and willingly fall back into the other person who then catches them and doesn't let them hit the ground. It is supposed to demonstrate that we trust Jesus to “catch us” when we fall, that He won't let us hit the ground.
I have seen those demonstrations go several ways. I've seen where the person falling back does not fully commit to the fall and ends up landing on their butt, or the person catching is not sure what to do when they fall back toward them and steps out of the way. The best demonstration of this happens when the two people rehearse prior; it gives them a chance to build trust in one another beforehand so that the person can fully commit to the fall and the catcher is not caught off guard and is fully aware of their role to catch them.
Trust is one thing, but the other part of that is surrender. Aren't they the same thing? Actually, they are not!
In this theatrical display of trust, the person must willingly fall back. There is a principle at work - a law, if you will - that you must surrender to for this demonstration to be effective. It’s a law that is always at work, whether I think about it or not. In the book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis, which is an allegorical story about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, CS Lewis refers to principles that are so ingrained in our lives that we don't even think about it, as the ‘deep magic.’ The ‘deep magic’ that allows the trust-fall to be an effective illustration is gravity.
You see, when the person falls back, they must surrender to the pull of gravity. It is in that surrender that I am able to trust the other person to catch me. If you really want to demonstrate this principle, fall back with nobody behind you. Surrender to gravity with people standing around and hope and trust that someone will not let you hit the ground!
One of the things the Lord is speaking to me about recently, my word of the year, is surrender. One of the passages the Lord took me to, after speaking that word, was Matthew 11. John the Baptist is in prison and hears about the works of Jesus. He sends his disciples to Jesus to ask the question, “Are you the One, or should we look for someone else.” Jesus replied to tell John about all that the disciples saw and heard, and then He says, “Blessed is he who does not take offense at me.” Upon reading that passage, I saw that John was sitting in prison, feeling forgotten about and maybe wondering if it was all worth it. Maybe he wondered if his service to the Lord mattered. You see, surrender has many levels and many applications to it. Not only did John surrender to the Lord his will so he could preach the gospel and baptize people in keeping with repentance, but sitting in prison, he had to make the decision if he was going to trust Jesus enough, to surrender his life (Actually) to God. I wonder what John the Baptist would say about that demonstration of trust.
All of that was to get you thinking about surrender. We will spend a lifetime learning how to surrender our lives to God. It comes in small increments of trust. What we encounter with the Holy Spirit in our day to day lives is what we learn to surrender to Him as an act of our will, and it leads to more trust. More trust leads to greater surrender. I must bring you back to the example of the trust fall, I first have to make a decision to surrender to the law of gravity before I can trust someone to catch me. With Jesus, I must make a conscious predetermined decision of my will that surrenders to His lordship and His goodness.
Now, we can talk about communion. On the night He was betrayed, Jesus broke bread and poured wine. He passed them around to His disciples with this in mind, ‘This is my body and my blood… as often as you do this, remember what I did.’ Communion is an act that should cause us to remember all that Jesus did for us. We remember and surrender to a new law. No longer do we have to be slaves to the law of sin and death; but because of what Jesus did, we can now surrender to the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, Grace (Romans 8).
As we surrender to the law of Grace, we determine that we will trust Jesus with our life. We give Him the right to spend our lives like a blank check. It is in communion that we are reminded of our need for Jesus our Savior and are invited to surrender to His love and grace. We learn to surrender to His goodness and Lordship. In doing so, we put ourselves into a position for Jesus to be the lifter of our head. To bring us back to the communion He desires with us, the communion Adam and Eve had in the garden.
Are you lost? Do you feel alone? Do you feel like something is missing from your life? Participate in communion, take the bread and the wine as an invitation to commune with the King of the universe, an opportunity to surrender to Him and trust that your name is engraved into the palm of His hand and you are ever on His mind. Be reminded of the love He has for you and that you are the apple of His eye.
JOURNAL: Think about one area the Lord has invited you to surrender your will to His. What would it take to do that today? What are some things you would be willing to entrust to Him today. Take communion today and allow yourself to remember what it was like to surrender to Him the first time and allow yourself to do that again.
I have seen those demonstrations go several ways. I've seen where the person falling back does not fully commit to the fall and ends up landing on their butt, or the person catching is not sure what to do when they fall back toward them and steps out of the way. The best demonstration of this happens when the two people rehearse prior; it gives them a chance to build trust in one another beforehand so that the person can fully commit to the fall and the catcher is not caught off guard and is fully aware of their role to catch them.
Trust is one thing, but the other part of that is surrender. Aren't they the same thing? Actually, they are not!
In this theatrical display of trust, the person must willingly fall back. There is a principle at work - a law, if you will - that you must surrender to for this demonstration to be effective. It’s a law that is always at work, whether I think about it or not. In the book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis, which is an allegorical story about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, CS Lewis refers to principles that are so ingrained in our lives that we don't even think about it, as the ‘deep magic.’ The ‘deep magic’ that allows the trust-fall to be an effective illustration is gravity.
You see, when the person falls back, they must surrender to the pull of gravity. It is in that surrender that I am able to trust the other person to catch me. If you really want to demonstrate this principle, fall back with nobody behind you. Surrender to gravity with people standing around and hope and trust that someone will not let you hit the ground!
One of the things the Lord is speaking to me about recently, my word of the year, is surrender. One of the passages the Lord took me to, after speaking that word, was Matthew 11. John the Baptist is in prison and hears about the works of Jesus. He sends his disciples to Jesus to ask the question, “Are you the One, or should we look for someone else.” Jesus replied to tell John about all that the disciples saw and heard, and then He says, “Blessed is he who does not take offense at me.” Upon reading that passage, I saw that John was sitting in prison, feeling forgotten about and maybe wondering if it was all worth it. Maybe he wondered if his service to the Lord mattered. You see, surrender has many levels and many applications to it. Not only did John surrender to the Lord his will so he could preach the gospel and baptize people in keeping with repentance, but sitting in prison, he had to make the decision if he was going to trust Jesus enough, to surrender his life (Actually) to God. I wonder what John the Baptist would say about that demonstration of trust.
All of that was to get you thinking about surrender. We will spend a lifetime learning how to surrender our lives to God. It comes in small increments of trust. What we encounter with the Holy Spirit in our day to day lives is what we learn to surrender to Him as an act of our will, and it leads to more trust. More trust leads to greater surrender. I must bring you back to the example of the trust fall, I first have to make a decision to surrender to the law of gravity before I can trust someone to catch me. With Jesus, I must make a conscious predetermined decision of my will that surrenders to His lordship and His goodness.
Now, we can talk about communion. On the night He was betrayed, Jesus broke bread and poured wine. He passed them around to His disciples with this in mind, ‘This is my body and my blood… as often as you do this, remember what I did.’ Communion is an act that should cause us to remember all that Jesus did for us. We remember and surrender to a new law. No longer do we have to be slaves to the law of sin and death; but because of what Jesus did, we can now surrender to the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, Grace (Romans 8).
As we surrender to the law of Grace, we determine that we will trust Jesus with our life. We give Him the right to spend our lives like a blank check. It is in communion that we are reminded of our need for Jesus our Savior and are invited to surrender to His love and grace. We learn to surrender to His goodness and Lordship. In doing so, we put ourselves into a position for Jesus to be the lifter of our head. To bring us back to the communion He desires with us, the communion Adam and Eve had in the garden.
Are you lost? Do you feel alone? Do you feel like something is missing from your life? Participate in communion, take the bread and the wine as an invitation to commune with the King of the universe, an opportunity to surrender to Him and trust that your name is engraved into the palm of His hand and you are ever on His mind. Be reminded of the love He has for you and that you are the apple of His eye.
JOURNAL: Think about one area the Lord has invited you to surrender your will to His. What would it take to do that today? What are some things you would be willing to entrust to Him today. Take communion today and allow yourself to remember what it was like to surrender to Him the first time and allow yourself to do that again.
We'd love to hear from you! Let us know in the comments what God is speaking to you as you read these devotionals. If you haven't already subscribed to receive our devotional emails right to your inbox, hit the subscribe button below and invite your family and friends to subscribe as well! Thank you for being a part of our Opendoor Devotional Community. We appreciate you!
No Comments