Recently we had a study on reconciliation during our communion service, and it really got me thinking.
It began right at the very start in Genesis, where God intended everything to be perfect. There was no separation, no brokenness, just full relationship with Him. But then sin entered, and everything changed. Separation happened. We were separated from our provider and our Lord.
When Adam and Eve were banished, they had children, and not long after that we see the first murder. It just builds and builds. It keeps going. Sin leading to more sin, brokenness leading to more brokenness, and people becoming more and more separated from God.
So as time goes on, God gives His people laws. These were not random rules. They were there because without them we would honestly just be feral. The first part teaches us how to love God, and the rest teaches us how to treat others. But even with that, the separation was still there. The law showed the standard, but it could not fix the heart.
Time and time again, God’s people rejected Him. Then they came back. Then the cycle repeated.
It was not until Jesus Christ came. Lived a perfect life. Died upon the cross for our sin. And rose again. That reconciliation truly happened.
As it says in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Through His sacrifice, we were given a new covenant with God. Not based on what we can do, but on what He has already done. Because of that, we can come to Him with anything. We can draw near to Him. We can be forgiven, made clean, and brought back into relationship with Him.
That is what communion is about.
As it reminds us in 1 Corinthians 11:28, “Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.”
It is not just a moment. It is a response. It is us taking time before God to examine our hearts, to repent, and to reconcile ourselves back to Him.
No matter where we are in our walk, or even where we stand in what we believe, we are given that space to come back to Him. To be honest. To be real. To turn back to Him.
So where are you with God right now?
Because He has already done everything needed to draw us back to Him. The invitation is there. We just have to respond.