As I was singing Hymn 183 today, I thought,
“Yes, we take the symbols of flesh and blood in remembrance of Christ’s suffering. But that just completes the circle, which began when He came to earth and went to the cross in remembrance of our suffering.
God said, “who will go down to this earth, aka hell, to learn what I know, so that you can become like Me?” And a bunch of us raised our hands. And we came down, and immediately we began bleeding, and dying and being torn.
And God saw our faith, and loved us, and said, “I’m gonna go down, right in the middle, and to the very bottom of where you are, to be with you, so that you know that I have not asked anything of you which I am not willing to do.”
And so He loved us first, in remembrance of our suffering; and now we love Him last, in remembrance of His. And this is how the two of us become one.”