Having delivered his people from Egypt, the first thing that God calls his people to do is to commemorate what has just happened and to keep commemorating it every year. They did this with the Passover meal. In everything that God does for us there is something to draw on for the rest of our lives. The acts of God are not just passing occurrences that affect only present circumstances. The acts of God, though occurring at a point in history, nevertheless transcend history in the sense that they can continue to cause a domino effect in the future. A great act of God in our past can have the same impact now as it did then. This is what God wanted to ensure by commanding his people to commemorate the Exodus through the Passover meal. It is also what we do in the Christian church when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. When Jesus told us to remember him by celebrating the Lord’s Supper, he did not mean ‘remember’ just in terms of sentimental reflection. The commemoration of Christ’s death through the Lord’s Supper brings the power of Jesus’ work of atonement into the present in a special way. The power is not in the elements themselves. The power is in the whole-hearted act of commemoration. Commemoration invigorates our faith and draws us into a greater awareness of God. It brings the power of the past acts of God into the present.
Bring to mind some of the most important acts of God in your life. Praise God for what he did.
Read Exodus 12:43-13:16
