"..Bread of life" - John 6:35 (GW)

As I was spending time with the Lord this morning, I was asking for Him to speak with me uniquely or profoundly so that I might have something to share with my brothers and sisters in Christ. 

With my eyes closed, a vision came to me. In this vision, I saw myself and others who were followers of Jesus, were ministering to others who had need, and I saw what I first perceived as the name "Sacramento" written across mine and everyone else's chest who were serving others. As I looked closer at the name, I realized that the "o" was missing from the word Sacramento, and on each person I saw had the name "Sacrament" written on their chests.

Then the Lord spoke to me saying that "these Jesus-followers in your vision are the sacrament that I am giving to the world. As they receive the bread of life, they become the bread of life for others, and as they receive the wine, they become like wine poured out for others."

"God did this because he wanted you Gentiles to understand his wonderful and glorious mystery. And the mystery is that Christ lives in you, and he is your hope of sharing in God's glory." 

Colossians 1:27 (CEV)

For me, all of this harkens back to the passage that it is "Christ in you the hope of glory."  The whole message of Christ was kept as a hidden secret and a mystery throughout the ages and now revealed to us. 

And because Christ now resides in our hearts (or minds) even though His presence is unseen, He becomes alive and evident in our lives as He begins to change us and we become as He is.

"I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning. God's purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places." 

Ephesians 3:9-10 (NLT)

The following quote is from the Catholic Encyclopedia: "Taking the word "sacrament" in its broadest sense, as the sign of something sacred and hidden (the Greek word is "mystery"), we can say that…material things are unto men the signs of things spiritual and sacred, even of the Divinity." (the following two verses are quoted:)

"Heaven makes heard the glory of God and the firmament shows the work of his hands." 

Psalms 19:1 (ABPE)

"From the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities, his eternal power, and divine nature have been clearly observed in what he made. As a result, people have no excuse." 

Romans 1:20 (GW)

So as I understand it, we are the sacrament of God. We are His sons and daughters who have Christ abiding within us; the apparent end of this is as He lives in us, we are changed into the hands and feet of Jesus. Not just to do what Jesus did, but to become who Jesus is. 

As we take the bread, which represents His body, and the wine, which represents His blood, it is as if our DNA is being re-written to reflect the very characteristics of the divine nature. 

I do not espouse the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation "where the conversion of the substance of the Eucharistic elements turns into the body and blood of Christ at the consecration, and only the appearances of bread and wine are remaining." 

But I do believe that Jesus is the bread of life, and as He abides in us change becomes imminent, how could it not. 

And as His blood has paid for our debt of sin and cleansed us from our guilt and shame, it becomes a reality, not just spiritually, but also naturally, for we are set free from all the effects of sin and death. 

The communion elements are reminders of who Jesus is and what He has accomplished and are also reminders that He abides in us. We receive Him daily as we do food. He also has permanently removed the veil of sin through His blood, which is our free access to the Father.

Communion is a powerful tool because it connects us with the spiritual reality that is alive and working within us. But, communion is not an end in itself, we become the living bread because Christ lives in us, we are the wine because we speak the words of life that can bring freedom from sin to others. 

Don't misunderstand me, we are not "God's", but we are His sons and daughters who were created in His image and have the very nature (or characteristics) of God Himself imparted to us because of His abiding presence within us. 

We offer the bread of life in the form of caring for others and demonstrating the love of Christ in tangible ways that others may know mercy and kindness that the transformative love of Christ may occur and change others as it has changed us.

So,we are the Sacrament to be expended at the pleasure of our King.

Be Blessed;

Stephen Barnett