As college students, we often find ourselves chasing after grades, jobs, expectations, and many other things. We feel rushed, needing to have everything under control. Within this high pressure culture, idolatry easily takes root in our hearts, leading us away from truly seeking God and living in obedience.
As we go about this Holy Week and reflect on the Last Supper today, my prayer is that we remind ourselves of how faithful the Lord is, and understand the importance of seeking God with intentionality.
During his time on earth, Jesus demonstrated this heart perfectly, being completely obedient to the Father unto death as he redeemed us by his blood. Two thousand years ago today, he shared his last meal with his disciples:
Luke 22:18-20 ESV- 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.”
I find it profound that as Jesus knows the suffering to come and prepares for it, he offers himself to us and expresses hope in the redemptive joy that is to come. What is very clear is how intentional Jesus is, sharing why he is willing to go through the most painful experience a human can endure. The next day, he pays the unpayable cost for us, looking to the joy set before him (Hebrews 12:2): the redeemed having a personal fellowship with the father as Children of God.
As I reflect upon how God has met me, I am amazed at how loving and patient he has been with me, but I’m also in awe of how he has intentionally met all of my fellow brothers and sisters in the exact way each of us needed. On this day two thousand years ago, Jesus tells us this message on the eve of his crucifixion, that we are his joy, and that he wants us to know him. He loves you so much more than you could ever imagine.
Yet, I am plagued by how commonly I look to other things than Jesus, who remains faithful. I feel lost in my own pride and brokenness, and I despise how forgetful I am of the life he gave me that I did not have. This shows the reality of our fickle hearts.
For many of us journeying with me in this faith, the core significance of Jesus’s death and resurrection can escape us, and we lose the level of gratitude we must have. Wrestling with this, the conviction the Lord gave me is that I cannot expect transformation with a half-hearted devotion to him.
In the Word, God says to us, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). The greatest commandment puts this into perspective. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). We need Jesus, and he alone brings true freedom and redemption. Knowing my own wretchedness, I’ve witnessed how seeking God with the desperate intentionality to know him and be refined by him changed my life so radically.
Ask yourself, if Jesus is the center of it all, then how close are you to him? No matter the perceived distance, how can you strive towards him and receive his love?
As we partake in the Lord’s Supper today, let us reflect on the faithfulness of God and how intentionally he has sought us out. Let us reciprocate his love by humbling ourselves in reverence, repentance, thanksgiving, and make knowing Jesus the center of your life.
Proper worship to God is wholehearted, and we are blessed in that as we draw near to him, he will draw near to us (James 4:8). I pray that until the day we drink the fruit of the vine new in the kingdom with our Lord and Savior, we will dwell in his presence with immeasurable delight and intimacy.
This post was written by Eunwoo Kim, a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania studying Economics and Environmental Science.
Penn Epistle 