"At His core, God's heart expressed in this world seeks to romance you through His body broken and His blood shed... He is seeking to be peculiarly attractive to you by His love poured out."
Communion is such an incredible picture of the body broken and the blood shed, and I have been struck by how uncomfortably intimate it is to participate in. Jesus has made himself 100% accessible to me, to the extent that he invites me to (figuratively) eat of his broken body and drink his shed blood. I hear him say, You want to know my Father? Here; come. Eat of the bread and drink of the wine. Let my death and resurrection live within you. And then you will know intimately my Father and His heart.
Why would the bread of heaven (Jesus) be broken for me? Why would the cup of salvation be held up for me to drink? Oh Jesus, what a mystery! Why would Jesus command his disciples to "Drink from [the cup], all of you" (Mt 26:27)? I hear him say, Yes, Judas... even you. Yes, Peter... even you. Yes, Emily... even you. My blood is shed for each of you, even though you betray me.
He tells us to eat the bread and drink the wine in remembrance of Him (1 Cor 11:24-25). How can I not do it in remembrance of Him?! This body, broken for me, is what has given my life meaning, purpose, and passion. This blood, shed for me, is what has redeemed my soul from the pit of emptiness. The wine (okay, grape juice...) is sweet on my lips, and the bread is satisfying to my stomach. Infinitely more so does the death and resurrection of Jesus linger sweetly on my lips and provide nourishment to my soul.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Jesus. You are peculiarly attractive to me by Your love poured out. You have romanced me - and continue to romance me daily - though your body broken and your blood shed. I am romanced by death!
Beautiful post, Em.
ReplyDelete"Romanced by death" It sends shivers down my spine.
I feel like Scar in the Lion King:
"Mufasa"
(shivers) "Ooh, say it again"
"Mufasa, Mufasa, Mufasa"
I keep re-reading your post, still at a loss for a response. The wonder of our Lord's love goes against all common sense and yet it resonates with something deep down inside. We long for this kind of brokenness, this kind of death, this kind of love.
"The fullness of Your grace is here with me
The richness of Your beauty’s all I see
The brightness of Your glory has arrived
In Your presence God, I’m completely satisfied
For You I sing I dance
Rejoice in this divine romance
Lift my heart and my hands
To show my love, to show my love
A deep deep flood, an Ocean flows from You
Of deep deep love, yeah it’s filling up the room
Your innocent blood, has washed my guilty life
In Your presence God I’m completely satisfied"
So much perspective when we think about being romanced by the Creator of the universe. In the worship song when it says "You make all things work together for my good," I always find myself changing it to You make all things work together for Your good. It is hard for me to grasp how everything God does ultimately is for our good. I feel selfish saying it, but I know that I need to accept God's love from breaking His body and shedding His blood for me. I can't comprehend why, I just have to accept it and humble myself to give Him everything of me.
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