THE HOPE OF THE CROSS OF CHRIST: A Personal Connection

For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. (1 Corinthians 11:26)

We are commanded to take the bread and the cup in our hands and consume it—symbolically testifying that we have a personal connection with Jesus Christ and His church.  If we do not, then it is a sham—we have eaten a sliver of unleavened bread and downed a bit of grape juice—that’s it, and we have confessed a lie making us worse than we would have been had we refused it.

Today, on this Good Friday, there is opportunity to say,

King of my life, I crown Thee now,

                                    Thine shall the glory be;
                                    Lest I forget Thine thorn-crowned brow,
                                    Lead me to Calvary.
                                    Lest I forget Gethsemane;
                                    Lest I forget Thine agony;
                                    Lest I forget Thy love for me,
                                    Lead me to Calvary. (Jennie Evelyn Hussey)

Those who nailed Jesus to the cross crowned Him with thorns—will you reject Him as they did, or will you crown Him Lord of your life today?

Can you recall a past conversion—has there been a time that you received Jesus Christ by faith?  If not, this is the day to make that choice.

Perhaps you have received Him—praise God!  But what about this:

Is there anything between your soul and your Savior that would hinder communion with Him?  Are you in fellowship with your fellow believers?  The Lord’s Supper is meant to be a time of solemn self-examination and repentance that brings cleansing.

Are you living in light of eternity?  Are you thrilled with that hope of heaven, or are you too drawn by the things of the world?  Yes, the hope of the cross takes us beyond the suffering of this present time to the glory that shall be revealed.  C.S. Lewis said it this way, “There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.”