‘But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.’

Examination goes hand in hand with the Lord’s Supper. No one else can do it for us; we must  scrutinize our own soul. To sit quietly and look contemplative in the Lord’s Supper with a cold heart is no better than what the Corinthians did—turning the Lord’s Supper into a food-fest, with everyone vying for first place in the food line.

Meditating on Christ and Him crucified should melt the most stubborn, vindictive, jealous, selfish heart. Let no one else judge our worthiness, but let us be honest with ourselves. Did not David write, “You desire truth in the innermost being…” (Ps. 51:6)?

Some people are so hurt by others’ judgment that they hide behind the modern mantra that one must learn to love oneself. However, the self-examination at the Lord’s Supper needs to look behind all barriers and not let external fears prevent the roving eyes of the Lord from looking into our deepest soul.  Fearsome, yes, but we discover that Christ and Him Crucified will meet us there with His grace and mercy, which are found in Him alone.

Examination is a must, for without it we remember the Lord in a superficial way. We tend to see His sacrifice in limited terms. We don’t think His grace and forgiveness extend to the really bad things we have done, or even the real badness that we are. Without examination, we will never understand and fully appreciate and accept God’s infinite, all-surpassing grace and mercy.

In this examination of ourselves, we are not trying to be like the person who first cleans himself up before he goes into the shower to get washed. The Lord’s Supper is the bath we need, not our own efforts to make ourselves acceptable. We need to remind ourselves:

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Heb. 4:16)

We go to the Lord for cleansing; we don’t clean ourselves up first. We could never make ourselves worthy to worship Him. All we can do is examine ourselves, remembering that we are sinners saved by grace, and remembering Christ and Him Crucified for us, for me. Without this kind of examination, the Lord’s Supper becomes nothing more than a ritual we only attend if we “get something out of it,” not because we remember the wonderful thing Christ and Him crucified has done for us, for me.

Lord, Your grace is greater than all of my sin. That is so, so amazing.