תודה, תודה לך! (Hebrew for Thank You)--Day 5

"For I received from the Lord the teaching that I passed on to you: that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took a piece of bread, gave thanks to God, broke it, and said,
This is my body, which is for you. Do this in memory of me. In the same way, after the supper he took the cup and said,
This cup is God's new covenant, sealed with my blood. Whenever you drink it, do so in memory of me.

This means that every time you eat this bread and drink from this cup you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 GNT

Dear Jesus,

I read this verse today and a realization came to me. You knew. You knew that when You were having the last supper with Your apostles, that you were going to die that very evening. Die for sin. Human sin. Die for me! Die for my sin. And You gave thanks anyway. Wow!

Where were Your emotions that night Jesus? Were you sad? Scared? Hesitant? All those emotions would be perfectly acceptable. Maybe You were even a little excited. After all, You were finishing what You came for. You would be able to be back in Your rightful place, at the right hand of Your Father. Back in Your own skin, so to speak. What were you feeling?

Dear Jesus, I am truly grateful for what You did. I can't even begin to wrap my mind, heart or spirit around it. I praise You and Your infinite love and grace that You have shown me from the moment I was knitted in my mother's womb. I thank you for never feeling that You were cheated. By that I mean that I don't think that You ever felt that You wished that You hadn't done what You did. That You got the short end of the stick. That if You could, You would take back Your sacrifice. That is what I'm afraid that I, in my humanity, would feel. But You don't.

I praise You for Your faith in me. It is totally amazing to me that You, in all Your infinite wisdom, can trust me to do some of the things that You have entrusted me to do. Thank you for using me in that way. For working through me.

In Your love, I am totally humbled yet totally empowered at the same time. That, in Your love for me, it doesn't matter how smart I am, what I look like, my accomplishments, my talents, my body shape--it doesn't matter. Your love for me and our relationship isn't hinged on that. You look in my heart and to You, I am the most perfect child anyone could ever have. And for that, I thank you.

Each and every day, I remember you. Each and every day, I am in communion with you.

"They will be My people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way so that for their good and for [the good of] their descendants after them, they will fear Me always.

I will make with them an everlasting covenant: I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put fear of Me in their hearts so they will never again turn away from Me. I will rejoice over them to do what is good to them, and I will plant them faithfully in this land with all My mind and heart." Jeremiah 32:38-41 HCSB