We had a sweet, young girl become a Christian recently at my home congregation. Her father baptized her, and altogether it was a sweet moment, and we are blessed to have a new sister in Christ at our church.

The very next Sunday was her first communion, and it had come quickly since she was baptized on a Wednesday. And let me tell you that she was so excited to be having her first Lord’s Supper.

Dear reader, let me ask you something: do you remember your first communion? Do you remember the first day you finally got to partake of the Lord’s Supper and not just pass down the plate to your parents? Now, let me ask you something else: do you still look forward to the Lord’s Supper today? If not, how do you get excited for it, even after being a Christian for many years? And why should we still be excited?

Because of its importance in God’s Word

When was the last time you read the account of Jesus giving the first Lord’s Supper to His disciples? For this post, let’s talk about the account from Luke 22:14-23:

And when the hour came, He reclined at table, and the apostles with Him. And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks He said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And He took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!” And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this.

Why did I choose this passage instead of the account from Matthew or Mark? I chose to share this set of verses with you because of the way this passage fits in the great history of Jesus’ ministry.

After Jesus gave this Lord’s Supper to His disciples, He knew exactly what was going to happen: Judas Iscariot would betray Him, and He would later be tried and crucified and rise again after three days. But the disciples didn’t know any of this; in fact, when Jesus mentioned a betrayal, they immediately speculated who it could be.

The Lord’s Supper was given in a time of great turmoil for Jesus, but He still gave his disciples a way to remember Him, and in turn, He gave us this way to remember Him, too. His example was given out of His great love for us, and we should remember that.

Because it gives us a chance to self-reflect

There are times when my mind has wandered during the Lord’s Supper. I don’t like to admit that, but it’s true; it seems as though my mind runs over every single thing I have to do in the week that the Lord’s Supper just runs in the background. But this should not be so, and this is something I am working on.

Paul encouraged the Corinthians in his first letter to “Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself” (1 Corinthians 11:28-29). It’s important for us to do the same. Self-evaluation in your walk with God is healthy, and it will keep you on the straight and narrow path (Matthew 7:13-14).

Because it gives us a chance to remember what Christ did for us

Not only should we reflect on ourselves and our own walks with God, but we should also remember exactly what Christ did for us, and why we’re taking the Lord’s Supper in the first place.

We take the Lord Supper in remembrance of Him (Luke 22:18). We want to remember what He did for us – His earthly ministry, His death, His burial, and His resurrection – all so that we can live eternally with the Lord and Savior we love. He loves us so much that he would do all of these things for us (John 3:16).

So, at the end of all of this, we should still keep the zeal and excitement about the Lord’s Supper alive because of the opportunities it offers us to read God’s Word, reflect on our own faith, and remember the greatness and unsurpassable love of our Lord and Savior. All of this should get us excited – and keep us excited – even after we’ve been Christians for years.

So, when you see a new Christian celebrating their first Lord’s Supper, celebrate with them. After all, God and the Angels are rejoicing, too: “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).

By Savannah Cottrell