Kenneth Osbeck, in 101 Hymn Stories, tells the story of Robert Robinson, who wrote “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”

Robinson was a barbering apprentice in London “associated with a notorious gang of hoodlums and lived a debauched life.” At age 17, he attended a meeting with his friends to mock the Methodist church where George Whitfield—popular for his pronunciation of “Mesopotamia”—was preaching. Robinson was so compelled by Whitfield’s preaching, he accepted Christ.

Years later, he felt a call to the ministry and joined the Methodist church as a pastor. When he moved to Cambridge, he became a Baptist pastor and began writing theological works and hymns.

At age 23, Robinson wrote one of the most popular hymns of the church. Sections of this hymn have been quoted in sermons and baptisms, weddings and funerals. In fact, this is one of the songs I want sung at my funeral.

‘O to grace how great a debtor’

A focal stanza for me is the last:

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy grace, Lord, like a fetter,
Bind my wand’ring heart to Thee:
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, Lord, take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above. (Baptist Hymnal, 1991)

This song embodies the gospel message in a song!

The truth about us all is that we tend to wander from the loving arms of God. We know the love of God. We can recognize it in creation and throughout our lives; yet, something always pulls us away.

So, Robinson hands his heart to God and says: “Here’s my heart … seal it for [your] courts.” Isn’t that powerful?

Though we will not stop wandering because we can’t, we ask God to please attach us to God.

‘Let Thy grace, Lord, like a fetter’

In response to his wandering, Robinson wrote: “Let Thy grace, Lord, like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to Thee.”

Merriam-Webster defines ‘fetter’ as “a chain or shackle for the feet.” To say, “Like a fetter, bind my heart” is like saying, “Lord chain me up to you because I have this tendency to leave you, but I don’t want to.”

I am reminded of the thieves crucified with Jesus. One thief mocked and ridiculed Jesus, while the other thief was so full of remorse that he told the other thief to stop and asked Jesus to remember him. He did not demand that Jesus get him off the cross. He knew he had wandered from God. Instead, he asked Jesus to bind his heart to him and not forget who he was!

Jesus did even more than that, however. Jesus responded, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

‘Jesus sought me when a stranger’

What is the gospel but a Triune God fighting to get us back? Luke 15 depicts this Triune God leaving the 99 sheep to find the one lost sheep, tearing up her whole house to find the one lost coin, and running to his lost son when he returned from his wandering.

Sometimes I feel like I’m in a dark place, beyond what can be found, scared and alone. In those moments, I say: “Lord, bind my wandering heart to you. Shackle me to you.”

Another picture is an astronaut going for a spacewalk and remaining tethered to the ship. Even if the astronaut wanders off or floats beyond being able to grab something, he or she still will be connected to the ship and won’t be lost.

A friend suggested that rather than being bound to God with something like shackles and chains, we are bound to God by more of an umbilical cord. What an image! Like an umbilical cord provides a fetus with breath, nutrients and life, we are attached to God. This is what it is to be bound to God. This is what it is to have such a deep relationship with God that we are bound to the Lord in a nutrient-rich relationship full of breath and life.

A prayer for guidance

“O heavenly Father, in whom we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray thee so to guide and govern us by thy Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget thee, but may remember that we are ever walking in thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” — Anonymous, beliefnet.com

Jaci Garrett is a junior at Howard Payne University and is the interim pastor at Sidney Baptist Church in Sydney, Texas.

Although I was ordained in a Baptist church and am a Baptist pastor, my faith journey started in the Assembly of God and moved to the Episcopal church where I found most of my theology.

The Episcopal church is vastly different from Baptist churches for many reasons, but the one sticking out to me most is the Eucharist—or Lord’s Supper, for my die-hard Baptist friends. The Episcopal church holds the feast in a much higher regard than Baptists and other free church traditions.

The best way I can describe the Episcopal feast is to say it is a “reverent celebration.” In fact, the church is so serious about it, they will not dispose of unfinished bread and wine, so they have a designated person to finish off at the end of the service what has not been taken.

The New Zealand prayer book says: “Any remaining consecrated bread and wine, unless required for the communion of persons not present, is consumed at the end of the distribution, or immediately after The Dismissal of the Community.”

Now, to be clear, I love the Baptist tradition for a lot of reasons and certainly did not write this article to speak ill of Baptist churches, but rather to offer a different perspective on one of the two ordinances Baptists observe.

Examining Baptist notions of the Lord’s Supper

If you have attended enough services in a Baptist church, then you probably have participated in the Lord’s Supper. Baptist tradition indicates the Lord’s Supper generally is to be taken every quarter and should consist of unleavened bread—usually those papery little cracker squares—and grape juice—usually served in little plastic cups.

The Baptist Faith and Message states: “The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.”

I want to take this perspective and challenge it a little.

When we call the Lord’s Supper a “symbolic act,” we take the risk of lessening its meaning and importance. Like diluting lemonade with water, it takes the power out. I believe Jesus intended more from the supper than just a symbol.

The Lord’s Supper as covenant reminder

If we look at Scripture—specifically the account in Matthew 26:26-30, Jesus used the word “covenant.” Also, in Luke 22, Jesus is recorded as saying that the supper is the “new covenant established by [his] blood.”

From the point of view of Scripture, a covenant is not a small thing. We see this in the Old Testament covenants—Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic—which were more than a simple thing practiced every three months. The covenants were a promise of freedom and forgiveness.

When Jesus—the New Covenant—came, we received a promise from him that he will be back to take us once and for all. This good news is more than just a really cool apocalypse promise. It’s the covenant of eternal life with the Trinity. When Jesus sat down with his disciples to share his “body” and “blood” with them, he was sealing this covenant.

As a result, the Lord’s Supper is not merely something we do as a symbol of Jesus’ death and resurrection. The Lord’s Supper is a reminder that the covenant is still alive and active.

The Lord’s Supper as a satisfying practice

When asked about the Eucharist and its importance, Pope Francis said: “The Eucharist is simple food, like bread, yet it is the only food that satisfies, for there is no greater love. … There we encounter Jesus really; we share his life and we feel his love.”

We are a people who hunger to be loved, but where can we find such wholeness? It has to be in the body and blood of Christ. Through the taking of the body and the blood, we experience the love of Christ in his promise to come back for us. Jesus is the only one who truly can satisfy our hunger for love. We have to celebrate that as more than just a symbol.

The Lord’s Supper as discipleship

Baptists have disputed for years how often to observe the Lord’s Supper. Some see the Eucharist as something to be practiced every Sunday, while others see it as a strict once-a-quarter institution.

While I was talking to a professor about this not long ago, he said the argument that the Lord’s Supper will become a “meaningless or rote practice” if taken too often is an invalid argument.

When we want something to become common practice to our children—such as reading their Bibles, praying, participating in worship, etc.—we do not tell them to do that thing only once every three months. Think about it, have you ever told a new Christian to pray only once a quarter? No! You tell them prayer is a constant practice, and it matters because it is a connection between them and God. Why is the Lord’s Supper any different?

Similarly, I think it is vital that we practice the Lord’s Supper more than once a quarter so we can become more acquainted with its importance, connect better with the covenant and be closer to Christ.

Next time you are taking the Lord’s Supper at church, remember: It is more than just a “symbolic act” we do because the Bible says to do it. It is deeper than that. Take it as an opportunity to reflect on Christ’s love for us and the covenant he made to return for us. Then, if you’re feeling especially passionate, suggest to your church leaders that they do it once a month or twice a quarter. After all, nothing can change if no one offers a suggestion.

Jaci Garrett is a junior at Howard Payne University and is the interim pastor at Sidney Baptist Church.