Reason #317

"He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.” - Luke 22:19

Took. Blessed. Broke. Gave. 

 

We took the Lord's supper at church this morning. A time to remember what God has done for us and to thank Him for it, too. A time to reflect on the sacrifice He made on our behalf. Blood spilled out, bearing the burdens of our sins, facing our humiliation and dying the death we deserved. We have much to be grateful for.

 

Thanksgiving has come and gone and when we reflect on the past, recall memories, gratitude is found. Because we realize, in the aftermath, that we often have much to give thanks for. We realize, after all is passed and time has done its job, we can be grateful for any circumstance one way or another. Grateful that is happened? Maybe not. But we can be grateful for what we learned from it, we can be grateful for how it changed us, and we can be grateful for coming through it.

 

But the pastor pointed out those 4 words. Took, blessed, broke, gave. And here we see Jesus giving thanks at a time when it would seem difficult. But giving thanks doesn't always come naturally. Some times, we have to make a really big effort to give thanks, and I have feeling this may have been one of those times for Him. And so He took that bread that symbolized His body. A whole, pure, unblemished, spotless, and completely human body. And He thanked His father first and foremost. Thank you for this bread. But maybe it was more than just the bread He was thanking His father for. Maybe, by that, He meant "Thank you for this life you have given me. Thank you for giving me a purpose and for having a plan for me. Thank you for using me to bring glory to your name." Because it was the bread that He then broke, symbolizing His near fate. A body that would be beaten and broken and hung on a cross. I think it would be real hard to be thankful for that. I think it would be a real challenge to show gratitude for such a terrifying destiny. But Jesus made it well obvious that we always have something to be thankful for regardless of our current circumstances.

 

And so He was broken. Skin broken where the nails went in, where the crown pieced His brow, and where the spear struck His side. And He gave lifegiving blood for us. Hope, too. But that was how it had to be. He couldn't give until after He was broken. And often times we forget that it is in the brokennes where true life lies. It is in the brokenness we have the most to offer, the most to give. Because we now have pieces we can share. Pieces we can give as an offering to Him. Pieces that we are often times ashamed of, but pieces He will use if we allow it.

 

As I reflected today, as I thought about my story and remembered what all God has done for me, I was very overwhelmed with emotion. Because He took this girl. A really imperfect, flawed girl. One who thought she knew the meaning of whole, but one who had a lot to learn. And He blessed her life in really abundant ways. But brokeness happened. Shattering, and pieces were everywhere. And I wondered how He could do it. How He could clean up such a mess, use any of these pieces at all. Because I just couldn't see it. I couldn't see how it was possible to take something lying in pieces, something that wasn't perfect and whole, and do anything remotely good with it. But He took those pieces and He did more with them than when they were whole. He took each one and used it in a different way, making me share them although it was pretty tough at first. But it was the brokenness that brought me to life. In the brokenness, I experienced His fullness. And I saw what He could do. I saw how He could use broken things to serve a greater purpose, to make a bigger difference.  I saw how brokenness is often times the way it must be done to accomplish His will. So pieces were offered, pieces were given, some were removed and through it all, His perfect plan of bringing glory to His name prevailed.

 

And so I praise Him for taking a broken girl, for blessing her greatly, for giving her purpose, and for using her pieces in greater ways than she ever imagined.

 

#317 - Because we have more to give when broken.

 

"You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God." - Psalm 51:16-17