The Food of Humility

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God has designed this Table so that it feeds and nourishes our souls. But we should want to inquire into what this means a bit more. Otherwise we will come to think that the point of the sacrament is to make our souls grow “bigger,” and that’s all.

But God is after more than just quantitative growth. The issue is quality first. What is the nature of the soul that is growing? If the soul is proud and stubborn, we don’t want a bigger one. If the soul is humbled under the grace of God, we want every such soul to flourish and grow.

Within the church, we are tempted to surround our pride with the barricades of our rationalizations. We don’t listen to others because we are too busy calling our stubbornness “standards,” or “backbone,” or “self-respect,” or “true insight.” All the other soldiers in the army are out of step. But that kind of conceit is not fed here—although it is dealt with here.

Think about what you are eating. A broken body given over to injustice, and the Lord did this without opening His mouth in protest. What are you drinking? You are drinking the cup of the new covenant, shed by someone who was willing to be blamed for things He did not do. Contrast this with our tendency, which is the refusal to be blamed for things that we did in fact do. You eat this bread and drink this cup, and you should do it with the knowledge that your food is designed to break down your arrogance, and build up true humility in its place.

A good diamond can glitter in a darkened room, and so can a humble soul in a proud generation. For God’s true children, this meal feeds their humility—and does nothing with graceless pride except doom it.

So as you reach for the bread, and as you reach for the cup, recognize that you are reaching for the food that all true humility needs. So come, and welcome, to Jesus Christ.

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