Crackers and Grape Juice

My Granna's church is a building I have not step foot in since I was a child but if I could write a scent you would get a big whiff of perfume and cologne, flowers, old paper, and most of all, grape juice.  I remember sitting in church between my Granna and her friend.  I would hold the silver communion plate while they each took their little cup of grape juice and then I watched as they carefully broke off the the tiniest chip of cracker.  As a child I thought the size of the communion held some meaning; as if the person with the smallest portion was the winner.  It turns out there's just not enough crackers for everyone to get there own and nobody wants to drink a full glass of warm grape juice.  Especially old people who burp a lot anyway. 

When I was in middle school, I went to a private Christian school.  The most popular punishment for an over active child was "Saturday School".  "Saturday School" was me filling all of the communion plates with crackers and grape juice for the upcoming weekend services.  This chore was a tedious and time consuming one.  Imagine for a second how long it would take one child (with ADHD) to fill hundreds of tiny cups with grape juice and not spill a single drop.  Now imagine me eating a whole cracker and drinking a full glass of warm grape juice because I didn't eat breakfast and it was almost lunch time.  If you add up all the tiny chips of cracker I ate then I really could skip communion for the rest of my life.

On August 26, 2012 I was standing with the rest of my church worshiping my Father.  He spoke to me and said one word, "Communion".  God does this really cool thing with me.  He speaks a word and then I do a word study on it and then He rocks my world.  That's exactly what happened that day.

Think for a second.  If someone asked you what communion is, how would you define it?

This is how I would have defined it:

"Well, Jesus said to remember Him, and the way we remember him is by eating bread and that represents His body and then we drink grape juice and that represents His blood which he shed for us."

This is how Merriam Webster defines it:

"intimate fellowship or rapport: communication"

Stop me if none of the following is new to you, but my world has been shaken.

This is how God defines it:

"The cup of blessing [of wine at the Lord’s Supper] upon which we ask [God’s] blessing, does it not mean [that in drinking it] we participate in and share a fellowship (a communion) in the blood of Christ (the Messiah)? The bread which we break, does it not mean [that in eating it] we participate in and share a fellowship (a communion) in the body of Christ?" 1 Corinthians 10:16

"The grace (favor and spiritual blessing) of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the presence and fellowship (the communion and sharing together, and participation) in the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen (so be it)." 2Cor 13:14

"No one who abides in Him [who lives and remains in communion with and in obedience to Him--deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] commits (practices) sin. No one who [habitually] sins has either seen or known Him [recognized, perceived, or understood Him, or has had an experiential acquaintance with Him]." 1 John 3:6

This is what I got:

1.  Communion is more than grape juice and crackers.  Communion is acknowledgment, fellowship, prayer, knowing His Word, serving, worship, discussion, telling people about communion.  

2.  In order to abide in Him; remain in communion with Him; to live a life without limits; to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength we need to deliberately, knowingly, and habitually remain in obedience to Him.

For me, that was giving up certain foods that I idolize.  Now every time I choose to eat something other than the foods I really don't need, it's communion. Every bite of wholesome, healthy, fresh food, is communion.

3.  When I keep my eyes on Him, when I choose to remain in communion with Him, He gives me revelations about grace and I am more aware of His constant presence. 

It's good. Oh and my pants are bigger. BONUS!