1 Cor. 11:24.
John Alfred Trench.
Article 18 of 19 from 'Truth for Believers' Volume 1.
(New and Enlarged Edition 1906.)
He cannot bear to be forgotten by those He loves on earth to the end. Worthless hearts, we may say truly. Yes; but Jesus cares for them: He has died to make them His, and counts on our remembrance of Him — giving us only that which may be the sweet expression of it. If the Supper of the Lord means anything then, as we partake of it, it means this — that we love Him, and miss Him in the world that has cast Him out. He invests it with just this character Himself: "For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show forth the Lord's death till he come." It is the weeds of the church's mourning in a scene that has been desolated for her by the death of Christ, and in which she finds no rest for her heart, only lingering round the spot where His cross and grave express the heart of the world towards Him. We know Him by faith in the glory, and have rest in communion with Him there: but this only makes the earth's rejection of Him more keenly felt, and the cross that by which the world is crucified to us and we unto the world, as we turn to our path through it. We call in our hearts from the blighted scene, and get away in spirit as far as possible from it, only seeking more complete identification with Him in His rejection, as the best and brightest portion He could give us in such a world. It is not the attainment of an advanced Christian, but what Christ looks for from every heart that loves Him … Hear Him say, "this do in remembrance of me," and again, "ye show forth the Lord's death till he come." Is it not as though He said, "Do they miss Me?" "Do they long for Me to come again?" Oh, beloved, what answer do our hearts give to the challenges of His love?