Is the Lord’s Supper the apex of the week for you? Is it supposed to be? What makes the Lord’s Supper different from other activities of the Church? Some suggest that the difference lies in the fact that at other meetings we come to get, but at the Lord’s Supper we come to give. That may well be the problem in many assemblies. At every gathering of the church, it is intended that we give. What makes the Lord’s Supper unique is its dedication to give, not to one another, but solely to the Lord.
In order to give Him His worthy portion, however, I must be prepared beforehand. If I would welcome Him into His garden/my heart to eat His pleasant fruits (Song of Sol. 4:16), I will have to be weeding and cultivating my thoughts and affections through the week.
What steps can be helpful in anticipation of the Lord’s Supper?
CONFESSION
Heaven’s door is always open for a repentant saint. But the days become too busy, the conscience desensitized, and the pretending begins. We whistle in the dark, pretending all is well between our souls and God, trying to affect an “everything’s fine with me” attitude on our increasingly infrequent visits to the Throne of Grace. To be sure, instant confession is far better than confession only at bedtime, bedtime confession better than dealings with God at the end of the week, but the loving Lord has built this safeguard into our lives to keep it from going any further: “Let a man examine himself” (1 Cor. 11:28). This is not some broad sweep of the brush. If I commit them one at a time, I should confess them one at a time. Can’t remember? The Spirit has a gracious way of helping me if I spend the time in God’s presence. I will not discern the Cross aright if I do not discern the reason for it in my own life. And, oh, what a luxury to be clean before Him!
RECONCILIATION
Coming together to discern the Lord’s physical body, we also declare the Lord’s mystical body in the unity of our purpose, life, and belief. Can we rightly share the bread with a brother or sister with whom we have need of reconciliation? What better use could be made of Saturday, the day designated by God as the Sabbath, than to find soul rest by “first be(ing) reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift” (Matt. 5:24)! We cannot expect the world to believe our message of reconciliation — that sinful men can be reconciled to a holy God — if we can’t even be reconciled to one another.
MEDITATION
Has the Father asked us a hard thing — to think about His Son? He is the altogether lovely One and everything I discover about Him is just another reason to love Him. We keep hearing that meditation is a lost art but who will go out of their way to find it? Its essential ingredients are each precious in themselves: time, solitude, the Word of God, love for Christ and the gentle ministration of the Spirit. When mixed together, they taste just like heaven. Don’t know where to start? Take Saturday evening to read the portraits of Christ in John 1, Ephesians 1, Philippians 2, Colossians 1, Hebrews 1 and 2 or Revelation 1, 4, 5. Spend time with the Old Testament types, the Messianic Psalms and prophecies. You will agree with the psalmist, “My meditation of Him shall be sweet” (Ps. 104:34).
PREPARATION
Is Sunday morning your version of “Beat the Clock”? Do you arrive to remember the Lord in a frame of mind more suited to watching a horse race? Does it take you a major portion of the meeting to get your soul in a condition to worship? It doesn’t have to be like that. Lay out the clothes the night before. Make sure the shoes are shined and the vehicle is washed and filled on Saturday afternoon. Stack the Bibles, Sunday School materials, etc. by the door. Have a simple breakfast with minimal clutter and cleanup. Leave in good time (being late is simply a bad habit). Use the travel time to sing some appropriate hymns with the family or to quote some Scripture. And when it doesn’t work quite the way you would like it, don’t let little early morning upsets spoil your day.
Our lives are one long preparation for the worship of the Lamb through the ages. Each week we are invited to a dress rehearsal in the antechamber of heaven. We would do well to be ready.