lingering over the lamb

I’m in BSF this year…started in January. So I jumped into the middle of the study of John. I’ve really enjoyed it even though it’s very different from anything I’ve ever done before.  In recent weeks, we’ve been studying Jesus and His days before the cross and now we’re up to when Jesus breathed His last and gave up His Spirit, basically. I’ve had a hard time the last couple of weeks concentrating while doing my study at home. Sometimes I just blamed it on things going on around me or in me and kept going.

I finally stopped the other day to realize that one of the purposes of taking it so slowly (for me anyway) was to really take in all that Jesus had done for me. Awkward. Not something that’s easy to stay with week after week. I know sometimes we talk about Good Friday and then say something about Sunday’s coming. Well, sometimes it feels like Sunday will never get here since we’re dissecting the verses so slowly (which is good). But it is hard to linger over the words of scripture about the spotless and holy Lamb of God and all He willingly suffered for me.

The other day I went to lunch at a friend’s house. It was her birthday and several of us got together to eat and scrapbook. One of the girls brought take out. And it was something I’d never eaten before.  I didn’t say anything about it to them, but it was very hard for me to eat it. I looked at it. I smelled it. And finally I ate it…savoring every bite..being fully aware of every aspect of eating it.

It was lamb.

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” Luke 22:19