Faith
Originally scheduled for April 3
By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so
that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them.
(Hebrews 11:28 NASB)
The passage refers to Moses. Perhaps
you haven’t thought of it this way but give some consideration to
the burden of faith which Moses bore:
·
He
had to convince the Israelite people that they must perform this
Passover ritual at the command of God Almighty.
·
They
had to know that the Angel of Death would Passover their families if
they did this – but would not pass over anyone else. Completely
unknown before this, the slaughter of the firstborn was something no
one had experienced.
·
Then,
after the ritual and the Angel of Death, the entire nation of Israel
would leave their familiar surroundings, slave masters and all, and
depart for some
place called the “Promised
Land.”
Moses
had to believe this so completely that he convinced everybody else
of the truth of it. No wonder the author of Hebrews says he did it
“by faith.” To believe such a thing before it happens is a
tremendous act of faith.
One can
see the parallels to Communion here. It too is an act of faith, and
suffers from some serious difficulties for the cynical mind:
·
It is
a ritual in a time where rituals are despised. It’s a ritual that
comes from a very old source; Communion is pretty much 2000 years
old. It is “obsolete” — if truth ever becomes obsolete.
·
It
carries with it some incredible promises.
o
It
carries with it the promise of grace, the forgiveness of one’s sins.
Grace is not purchased or bargained for, it is the free gift of God.
The cosmic bean counter theory is wrong; the love of God is truth.
o
It
carries with it the promise of Christ’s return. It promises there
will come a time when the evil and wrong of this world will be
abolished and that God Almighty will rule and reign over this world.
o
It
carries with it the promise of the resurrection. It is clearly
stated the Christians who genuinely have faith will rise out of the
grave and be given a new body — an eternal body.
·
Perhaps the most astonishing of all promises is this: that at his
return Christ will bring a New Heaven and New Earth. The universe as
we know it will cease to exist and be replaced by a much better one.
Every
time you take communion you proclaim your belief that these things
are true. This is not a small leap of faith.
How do
you know that you are bearing this burden of faith? There are some
tests that you might apply to yourself.
·
How
do you order your life? Are you one of those people who does a
corner in Jesus, a nice little religion? Or are you one who was
committed with his whole life to the Lord?
·
Is
your faith growing? Are you continually studying the Scriptures and
listening to those who are there to teach you?
·
Do
you share your faith, or are you silent?
There is a reason we are
taught to examine ourselves at communion. It is so that we do not
slip into a faith of going through the motions but
stay in a faith
living the true Christian life.
