Behold the Lamb

I was having some quiet times this week listening to Keith and Kristyn Getty's new CD, "Awaken the Dawn." I love their song, "Behold the Lamb" (Communion Hymn) which speaks about the sacrifice of Jesus, bearing our sin away on the cross. The first verse goes like this:

Behold the Lamb who bears our sins away,
Slain for us - and we remember
The promise made that all who come in faith
Find forgiveness at the cross.

Jesus is the Lamb of God who "bears our sins away."
"Slain for us." That is a powerful statement. He was slain for us, that we might have life. And now we have a promise, that those who "come in faith find forgiveness at the cross." How wonderful to know that God has provided a remedy for our sin in giving His only Son that we, in faith, might receive forgiveness.

Chorus:
So we share in this bread of life,
And we drink of His sacrifice
As a sign of our bonds of peace
Around the table of the King.

The body of our Saviour Jesus Christ,
Torn for you - eat and remember
The wounds that heal, the death that brings us life
Paid the price to make us one.

His body was torn for us. Isaiah 53:5 says, "But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed." The paradox of Christ's death is that He was wounded and we were healed; His death made us alive.
Jesus bought us with His own blood; our freedom is written in red by the One who makes us whole.

The blood that cleanses every stain of sin,
Shed for you - drink and remember
He drained death's cup that all may enter in
To receive the life of God.

He took our dirty, sin-stained, hard-hearted hearts and immersed them in His blood, making us white as snow. He purified us. He drank the cup of death that we might "receive the life of God."

And so with thankfulness and faith we rise
To respond, - and to remember
Our call to follow in the steps of Christ
As His body here on earth.
As we share in His suffering
We proclaim Christ will come again!
And we’ll join in the feast of heaven
Around the table of the King

This last verse and chorus really spoke to me. If we know that Christ has died such a death and now He lives again, He calls us to rise "with thankfulness and faith to respond." I think that "respond" is a what stands out to me. He calls us to follow in His footsteps, to reach out to the lost, to rescue to orphan, comfort the widow, and preach the Word, knowing that to live is Christ and to die is gain. And as the song says, we share in His suffering and we proclaim that Christ will come again. Then the reward, to spend eternity with the King of kings. I know that I often fail to live in a way that is pleasing to Him. The more I learn of His sacrifice, the more I see my sinfulness, but also, stronger grows my desire to be changed into His image.

A few weeks ago I posted a something written by Dr. Bob Moorehead. It can be found on "The Way of the Master" website. I was struck by the last line most of all:

"In 1980 a young man from Rwanda was forced by his tribe to either renounce Christ or face certain death. He refused to renounce Christ, and he was killed on the spot. The night before he had written the following commitment which was found in his room:

“I’m part of the fellowship of the unashamed, the die has been cast, I have stepped over the line, the decision has been made- I’m a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed vision, worldly talking, cheap giving & dwarfed goals. My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I won’t give up, shut up, let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up for the cause of Jesus Christ. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till everyone knows, work till He stops me & when He comes for His own, He will have no trouble recognizing me because my banner will have been clear.”

O Jesus, You died for me. Help me to live for you. Give me the strength to fight for Your truth and proclaim it with boldness. When You come again, may You know me because my banner had been waving clear and strong. I will know You, as the hymn writer wrote, "by the print of the nails in Your hands." Amen