Bobby and Sarah were riding home from church with Uncle Jeff one Sunday after the morning church service, as he was coming to their place for lunch. Both of the young people were more silent than usual, and in the end Uncle Jeff said, “Is something bothering you Bobby?”
“Well, not exactly,” Bobby said, “But I’d like to know a few things”.
“Like what?” Uncle Jeff asked.
“Well,” said Bobby slowly, “What I’d like to know is about this bread and wine stuff they have during the service”.
“What do you know about it Sarah?” Uncle Jeff asked.
“Well, I know it comes from the Bible, it’s not just a thing that people have made up to look good”, she replied.
“I guess it must mean something,” Bobby said, “But I’ve never heard anyone really explain it”.
“Perhaps you weren’t really listening”, Uncle Jeff said, “Haven’t you noticed what sort of prayers are said just before the bread is given out? What about you Sarah?”
“It’s usually a thank-you prayer”, she said, “Thanking the Lord Jesus for dying on the cross for our sins.”
“That’s right,” said Uncle Jeff, “But there is a lot more to it all than just that. How do you think the bread is made?”
“It’s made out of flour”, Bobby said.
“And how does flour get to be made?” Uncle Jeff asked.
“Well, it gets ground up out of the grains of wheat or whatever other grain is used”, Sarah said.
“If the wheat grains had feelings, do you think it would have been hurt in the grinding process?” Uncle Jeff went on to say.
“Oh,” said Sarah slowly, “So you are saying that the bread is like the Lord Jesus being hurt so badly when He died on the cross”.
“That’s right, Sarah, ” said Uncle Jeff, “What is the next process in making bread?”
“It gets mixed up with other things and then it’s baked in the oven,” Bobby said, “I DO like new bread!”
“What do you think the meaning of that is as far as the Lord Jesus was concerned?” Uncle Jeff asked getting back to the point.
“Being in the oven is very hot”, Sarah said, “I guess it was like that for Him when God turned away from Him when he took our sins on Himself.”
“Yes, that is quite true,” Uncle Jeff continued, ” and what’s more what is the bread like when it comes out of the oven?”
“Yum, yum,” said Bobby, “I LIKE new bread!”
“Did you know that the Lord Jesus could say that He was the bread of life? That was all because He died to save us from our sins! ”
“So that is what it is all about?” Sarah said, “Thanks so much for explaining that. What about the wine then? Is that something the same? ”
“Yes, the picture is the same”, Uncle Jeff said, “ The grapes have to be crushed first to get the juice out of them, and then there is a further process the juice goes through before it will keep. How do you think this is a picture of the Lord Jesus?”
“He lost a lot of His blood while He was on the cross”, Sarah said thoughtfully, “Almost as though it was crushed out of Him!”
“Yes, and some people drink wine to make them feel happy, and when they have something to celebrate; another thing about wine is that it is a healer if you put it on sores, and then it stops you feeling thirsty as well,” Uncle Jeff said, “And what’s more it lasts without going rotten. The Lord Jesus does all these things for people when they trust Him…that’s why it is a picture of Him. Does all this make sense to you Bobby?”
“Ye-e-es, I guess so”, Bobby said. “So it’s all a picture of what Jesus has done for us. It won’t seem so boring now in church, now that I know what it all means. But why is it only big young people who take it and grown ups? Why can’t I do it?”
Uncle Jeff had been expecting this question, and he said, “I know that a lot of young children have given their hearts to Jesus, and they would love to do this, but you know people do change their minds as time goes by. Remember the time when you thought you would like to milk cows when you grew up?”
“Yes”, said Sarah nudging Bobby, “And remember how you used to say you were going to marry Jenny when you grew up?”
“Yuk!”, said Bobby, “I’ve changed my mind, that’s all!”
“Well, you see we have to make sure that you are grown up enough to understand what it is all about and you want to do it to please the Lord Jesus Himself, not just because Jack in the next seat takes it!”
“Oh!” said Bobby, “Well, I don’t think I’m going to change my mind about this, but I only want to do it to please God and because it says so in the Bible!”
“That’s great!” said Uncle Jeff as he turned in to their driveway, “Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling hungry. Let’s go inside and see what Mum has ready for us for lunch!”
