The Nourishment for Eternal Life

Prayer-Soldier · Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2018 1:18 pm Post subject: The Nourishment for Eternal Life

The Nourishment for Eternal Life

Scripture:

So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice: We will do all the words of the Lord, which he has spoken. And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord: and rising in the morning he built an altar at the foot of the mount, and twelve titles according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the children of Israel, and they offered holocausts, and sacrificed pacific victims of calves to the Lord.

Then Moses took half of the blood, and put it into bowls: and the rest he poured upon the altar. And taking the book of the covenant, he read it in the hearing of the people: and they said: All things that the Lord has spoken we will do, we will be obedient. And he took the blood and sprinkled it upon the people, and he said: This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you concerning all these words.
( Exodus 24:3-8 )

But Christ, being come a high priest of the good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hand, that is, not of this creation: Neither by the blood of goats, or of calves, but by his own blood, entered once into the holies, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and of oxen, and the ashes of an heifer being sprinkled, sanctify such as are defiled, to the cleansing of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who by the Holy Spirit offered himself unspotted unto God, cleanse our conscience from dead works, to serve the living God? And therefore he is the mediator of the new testament: that by means of his death, for the redemption of those transgressions, which were under the former testament, they that are called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
(Hebrews 9:11-15)

Now on the first day of the unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the pasch, the disciples say to him: Whither will you that we go, and prepare for you to eat the pasch? And he sends two of his disciples, and said to them: Go into the city; and there shall meet you a man carrying a pitcher of water, follow him; and whithersoever he shall go in, say to the master of the house, The master says, Where is my refectory, where I may eat the pasch with my disciples? And he will show you a large dining room furnished; and there prepare for us. And his disciples went their way, and came into the city; and they found as he had told them, and they prepared the pasch.

And while they were eating, Jesus took bread; and blessing, broke, and gave to them, and said: Take you. This is my body. And having taken the chalice, giving thanks, he gave it to them. And they all drank of it. And he said to them: This is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many. Amen I say to you, that I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I shall drink it new in the kingdom of God. And when they had said a hymn, they went forth to the mount of Olives.
(Mark 14:12-16, 22-26)

Reflection:

One moment, our intentions are pure. One moment, our faith is strong. One moment, we are dedicated to our belief in God. One moment, we profess our obedience to God. In such moments, our desire is to be His. In such moments, we truly believe all which is written in His holy Word. In such moments we truly believe all which God reveals through His angels, His prophets, His only begotten Son, the Holy Spirit, the blessed woman He called to be the Mother of His Son, His miracles, and those His Son sent to make disciples of all nations and the church He built upon Peter (cf. Matthew 28:19 and Matthew 16:17-19)

Blessed are we as we turn to Him, but then, we are challenged by the world and something seems to fade. We might ask ourselves, how is it that after all who witnessed and all who heard, we are sometimes brought to question His Word? How is it that our memories seem to fade? How is it our heart becomes influenced by the world such that the fire which one moment is lit within us begins to flicker and appears to begin to lose its warmth? How is it that the love we profess for our God and one another begins to waiver? (cf. Matthew 22:36-40)

It happens to all of us, for the evil one attacks both the strong and the weak. The prince of darkness endeavors to cloud our mind and our hearts so we are drawn away from our faith. We may not even recognize the moment, where like a child, we are seduced into our disobedience. In such moments, because of our failures, we are tempted to hide ourselves from God, just as the first couple of the garden. (cf. Genesis 3:1-13) The evil one smiles at these times, for in the sorrow of our failing, we are tempted to turn away from the One who can heal us. In such moments, what the dark one does not want us to see is the hand of forgiveness which is extended to us.

The desire of God, that He should not lose any of the children of His creation, is so great that He has sent us so many messengers so we might hear Him and receive His love. His love is so great for us, that He sent His only begotten Son in atonement for our sins so we may have the opportunity to be cleansed and purified for the day we are called to walk forever within His kingdom. The evil one cares not how we turn away from such love, only that we do.

When we are not nourished, we become weak. In our weakness, we are no longer strong for the fight. It is for this reason our Heavenly Father sends us the nourishment of heaven; the bread of life. (cf John 6:22-71) The love of God is so great, that He sent His only begotten Son so He might become our eternal food and drink, the nourishment of eternal life. To many believe this instruction is hard, but if we truly believe in Him, if we truly trust in Him, then, we shall receive what He offers and we will allow Him to sustain us.

Let us, then, in our moments of weakness, reflect upon what is done for us by our Creator. Let us reflect upon the love He shares. Let us reflect upon the love He asks of us. Let us look at the many ways in which He works within our lives and remember to give thanks and praise. Let us take His hand and allow Him to lead us away from our temptations. Let us allow Him to nourish our soul so we may be strengthened through Him. Let us also remember to give thanks for the food and drink He provides which is the food and drink of eternal life.

Questions for further reflection:

In what ways do we allow the ways of the world to weaken us?

In what ways do we allow God to strengthen us?

In what ways may we lift up our hearts in thanks and praise for all which God provides?

May the peace and blessings of the Lord be with you always,
Prayer Soldier