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Counsels for the Church
Looking upon the crucified Redeemer, we more fully comprehend
the magnitude and meaning of the sacrifice made by the Majesty of
heaven. The plan of salvation is glorified before us, and the thought of
Calvary awakens living and sacred emotions in our hearts. Praise to
God and the Lamb will be in our hearts and on our lips; for pride and
self-worship cannot flourish in the soul that keeps fresh in memory the
scenes of Calvary.
As faith contemplates our Lord’s great sacrifice, the soul assimi-
lates the spiritual life of Christ. That soul will receive spiritual strength
from every Communion. The service forms a living connection by
which the believer is bound up with Christ, and thus bound up with
the Father. In a special sense it forms a connection between dependent
human beings and God.
The Communion service points to Christ’s second coming. It was
designed to keep this hope vivid in the minds of the disciples. When-
ever they met together to commemorate His death, they recounted
how “He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying,
Drink ye all of it; for this is My blood of the new testament, which is
shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not
drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it
new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” In their tribulation they found
comfort in the hope of their Lord’s return. Unspeakably precious to
them was the thought, “As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this
cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till He come.”
1 Corinthians 11:26
.
These are the things we are never to forget. The love of Jesus, with
its constraining power, is to be kept fresh in our memory. Christ has
instituted this service that it may speak to our senses of the love of
God that has been expressed in our behalf. There can be no union
between our souls and God except through Christ. The union and love
between brother and brother must be cemented and rendered eternal
by the love of Jesus. And nothing less than the death of Christ could
make His love efficacious for us. It is only because of His death that
we can look with joy to His second coming. His sacrifice is the center
of our hope. Upon this we must fix our faith
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The Desire of Ages, 643-661