Joyous Living through Word, Bread, and Wine
The fundamental message of the Gospel (the “good news”) is this: the kingdom of the world is become the Kingdom of our God and of His Christ. And He shall reign forever and ever. And, with Him, so whall we.
Therefore, we have no choice but to be joyful and grateful for this life we have been given. We cannot help ourselves. We get to listen to God’s words in the Bible (the King of the Universe actually talks to us!) and we try to live our lives according to what He says because…what else can we do? The Creator, the King of the entire Universe, has not simply created us as a plaything and then stuck us off in a corner when He became bored. No, He has taken an interest in us. He has drawn near to us and He has given us new Life in His Son and by His Spirit. This means that we are now making the whole world new. Just as Jesus was raised from the dead, so we all can have new life. And through us the whole world has new life. Every breath is new. Every day is new. Death has already been defeated. The book is already written, and we win. So, therefore, we live in joy before God and with each other. We encourage each other, we share food and fellowship and conversation with one another, and we worship God together with enthusiasm.
This world is full of good things: yeasty bread, rich red wine, and the very Word of our covenant Father and King. Yet, the world is also a hard and scary place, full of sin and death. This is because we are sinners and we have rebelled against our good God. But He has come to us anyway. He has offered His Son to die for us and, through Him, He has made all things new. So even in the hard times, let us be grateful. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God for every breath, for every day, for every color, for every laugh, for every loved one, for every good thing that we have been given. The evil of our world is no reason not to be joyful; it is all the more reason we SHOULD be joyful, for our God has remembered us and has rescued us from the old world and brought us into a new world in His Son. We are part of a Kingdom that shall have no end, and we serve a King who can never be overthrown. If we follow the only true King, Jesus Christ, we can weather the hard times as God’s people. If we serve Him, then we know that the Lord is with us. He is with our families, our marriages, our businesses, our civil governments, and our local congregations. If God is for us, then who can be against us? Let us come together, therefore, and worship the Triune God in spirit and in truth! Come one and come all! Taste and see that the Lord is good.
