This is the Table where suffering makes sense. We are not just being nourished—we are also being nourished through a broken body and shed blood. This sacrifice, which we are privileged to partake of here, was not pointless. If it had been pointless, it could not have been a sacrifice. This whole gospel endeavor is filled with meaning. His body was broken for you. His blood was shed for you.
What is meant by that small word for? We mean that God did this with the intent that. He did it for the purpose of obtaining. He gave His Son in order to secure the salvation of. In short, the death of Jesus had a telos, it had a purpose, there was a divine intention behind it.
But while it was not pointless suffering, it was suffering. There has been no greater instance of suffering in the annals of all mankind. No man ever suffered the way the Lord Jesus did. He suffered the physical stripes and wounds, He suffered the indignity of being treated as a criminal by a race of criminals, He suffered the insults of being treated as a traitor by the treacherous and, most of all, He suffered unspeakable horror at the moment when the Father’s wrath for all our sins was placed squarely on His shoulders. No one ever suffered as our Lord suffered.
Now if His suffering was not pointless, we can come to this Table knowing that our sufferings cannot be pointless. Why is this? We are in Him. We have been gathered up in Him. If Jesus is the point, and we are in Him, then all that we undergo is part of the point. This is why we can say in all confidence that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.
You are called here according to His purpose. God is sovereign, which means that when His purposes are laid on top of your life, there is no remainder. Everything makes sense. But make no mistake about it. It can only make sense here.
So come, and welcome, to Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the… Read more »
Over a year ago our 3 year old son became a double amputee in a lawn mower accident. “Accident.” We struggled to find the right word for a while…because it certainly wasn’t my husband’s intention! We knew that God didn’t look away in that moment. We knew he was still on the throne, sovereign and in control. We knew he was sovereign over the details — over the newly sharpened blades we had just put back on the mower that morning, over the last bit of missed yard that my husband backed up to cut, over my full-term womb holding… Read more »
Thank you for your faith. It is that kind of faith, the kind that bows to His sovereignty that is displayed in the hall of heroes listed in Hebrews. You are an encouragement.