Article by Ian Kirk

We live in a pretty crazy world. It’s high-tech and go-go-go! But don’t you feel something is missing? If so, I reckon you’re right! It’s called “Communion”.

What is communion? Well, let me suggest to you what it’s not! It’s not Facebook, it’s not greeting someone with a shallow “how are you going?”, nor is it being at a mega event.

Communion is spending time with someone, enjoying their company and getting to know them; and what’s so amazing about communion is that we were made for it – with our Creator, and with each other.

At the start of our Bible it tells us that humans were made special – we were made different to all other creatures – we were made in God’s image (Gen 1:26-27).  That means a whole lot of things – we can dream and design, envision and enjoy, reflect and rejoice, communicate and connect. But above all, we were made to commune with God.

At the beginning, all went well. God and humans enjoyed daily communion. But then communion between God and humans was broken when our first parents rebelled against God by breaking His command and His heart.

But God didn’t give up! Even when Adam and Eve sinned, He came down and sought them. He called out: “Where are you?” That response by God captures His heart toward us sinners. He seeks us. He calls to all of us “where are you?”

Besides losing communion with God through sin, there was also the drastic impact upon our communion with fellow human beings. Cain killed Abel, and in the days of Noah people had become so violent and abusive that God had to destroy the world with a flood.

But it never dampened God’s desire to restore communion between Him and us. The awesome plan of God was to send His one and only Son to bring us back to Himself.

Jesus came and died for us, bearing the penalty for our sins so that we could be forgiven, and be rescued from judgement. But there was more to it than that! He died and rose again, so that we could be reconciled to God – so that we could be brought back into communion with God through Him.

Jesus emphasised this reality when He spoke to Mary Magdalene after His resurrection. He said to her “I ascend to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God” (John 20:17). Through faith in Jesus, we are now able to have the same communion with God, as Jesus did. It’s the goal of the Gospel.

I love the fact that in our church tradition, we get to have something called communion every week. We break bread together and take the cup and commune with Jesus, remembering what He did for us at the cross.

How sweet it is to commune with Christ our Saviour. How awesome it is to remember what His death accomplished for us. I love to remember what happened the moment Jesus died. The curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. That curtain stood there as a powerful reminder that we could not approach God and commune with Him, because of our sin. But God demonstrated to the whole world what Christ’s death had accomplished for us by that divine act of tearing the curtain from top to bottom. It meant that through Christ’s death we have restored communion with God. Christ has removed the dividing wall between us and God. We can now come boldly and commune with Him, through faith in Christ, as Hebrews 10:19-22 declares.

And it doesn’t end there! We are to enjoy communion with God’s people. We are now brothers and sisters through Christ, and are part of God’s family (Ephesians 2:17-19).

We were made for communion with God and each other, and we were saved for it. The climax of communion will be the fulfilment of these words from Revelation 7:15-17 “For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne shall spread His tabernacle over them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; neither shall the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the centre of the throne shall be their shepherd, and shall guide them to springs of the water of life; and God shall wipe every tear from their eyes.”