Is this the best way of having a personal relationship with Jesus?

Question

By eating him in the Eucharist, where we partake of his body, blood, soul, and divinity? What could be better than having God inside of you and being sanctified by his grace? This is how Jesus told us to thave a relationship with us:
John 6: 54-56
Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.
54
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.
55
For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
56
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him."
Luke 22:19
"Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me."

Anyone who says He is speaking symbolically, and not literally, simply is refusing to look at all of the facts. Fact #1: The Jews took him literally, verse 52. Fact #2: His disciples took him literally, verse 60. Fact #3, the Apostles took him literally, verses 67-69. If everyone who heard him speak at the time took Him literally, then my question is: Why does anyone today, 2000 years after the fact, take him symbolically?

i love jesus 247: I agree with you 100% You have to do it all.

Nobody: read it again, he gave the BLESSING, and said this IS my body. this IS my blod. What part of IS don't you understand? How can it be figurative when Jesus said this IS MY BODY.

Sandy: pray to understand the scriptures. His OWN disciples said that this is a hard teaching. Read John 6. His Own disciples left him over this teaching in verse 66, Notice Jesus didn't call them back.

Nikki Read John 6 and pray. In Luke 22:19 He said this IS MY BODY. Do it in REMEMBERANCE means to repeat it always. What part of THIS IS MY BODY don't you understand? Don't you believe Jesus?

David V: In verse 63, he was talking about a human being's body. Not his own. "The Flesh is of no avail", he means Our flesh. His flesh is the bread of life in verse 48. and true food in v. 55.
You're right we are saved by Baptism. That comes first, then we partake of the Eucharist, once we are Christians.
Acts 2:42
"They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers" that's called Eucharist.

Answer 1

I am Catholic and my background in liturgical knowledge is based on the Eucharist, so I would have to agree with your statement. However, this is only meaningful if people really believe and understand what this means. It sounds like you have the scripture down pat, and truly believe what it says, so I'd say you are in good shape.

Answer 2

I don't think he meant that literally. The Catholic church claims that when the bread is prayed over, it transforms into the "actual" body of Christ. If that's the case, if I put poison in that bread, does that mean the person who eats it doesn't die because it has "magically" transformed?

The best way to have a relationship with Christ is constant prayer and a changed life. You can eat all the eucharist you want but if your life doesn't change, I don't think Christ would be happy.

Answer 3

I feel that partaking in Communion (the eating of the bread and the drinking of the wine) is important. It serves as a reminder of him. However, if that is all you do I don't understand how you could any closer to him than in just ceremony. I feel that there is far more to Jesus and God than just ceremonies. Being steadfast in prayer about any decisions- no matter how big or small and giving everything to him (such as all worries and all praise) and recognizing our sins and repenting from them. Jesus himself says how we should pray and that is through Jesus himself. We are commanded to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, all of our mind, and all of our sole. God and Jesus should be a part of our everyday lives. Just look at the examples that Jesus not only taught, but also followed. If we try to follow them according to what gifts the Lord has given to us (he gave each one of us different gifts) and according to what the Lord has called and willed us to do then we will be far closer to him than ceremony alone. A personal relationship to me is having him everyday in everything I do.

Answer 4

No, before taking liberties like that, you need to get to know him first, after all it is going to be a 'personal relationship'.

I think you should call him first. Do you have his number? I have seen many others that claim a personal relationship with him but they won't hand it out.

After that, perhaps coffee and an intimate chat. You know, just getting to know each other. If you try to take it too fast, the relationship might sour.

After this, if you think that you are compatible, you can take it further. Take him out to dinner, nothing fancy, just a bit of wine and bread, maybe some fish. After that you can eat him if you wish.

Answer 5

It depends how you see things, because by saying "eating the flesh and drinking his blood," that means reading the bible and practicing what It say (personal opinion.) I used to be catholic and now I'm Christian and while I was in the catholic church I never tried to do that I don't know why, but I just didn't do it. I respect others' religions and if they think that is the way, I can't do nothing. But don't worry just do the right things and what the bible say and, that's it.

Answer 6

What about vs. 63 in the same chap.?
63“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
And if the apostles took that literally then why did they not say you must eat His flesh and drink His blood in Acts 2:37-41 when the people asked what shall we do?
37Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” 38Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39“For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
40And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” 41Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.

Answer 7

That's a bunch of Catholic/Episcopalian hogwash. Communion is not the literal eating and drinking of Christ's flesh/blood. It is simply a rememberance of Him at the Last Supper when He said to do this in rememberance of me.

Answer 8

Definitely not. The best way is to connect with him like a friend and son/daughter. By having this kind of relationship with God, you do partake of his body and blood. He was talking figuratively. Religious rituals and eating are of little value.

Answer 9

We have communion in rememberance in him. It's not some symbolic meaning. Everything in the Bible is literal. God makes anologies to get his point across...(you have ears, but you do not hear, you have eyes, but you do not see). Yes, our breaking of the bread and drinking of the wine is symbolic to the Last Supper, but when Jesus did it, it wasn't meant to be sybolic. It's something that really happened.

Answer 10

Well, let's see,....no!
First of all, I don't feel a need to have a relationship with a dead guy.
Secondly, if you tried to eat me just to get to know me, I would have to really hurt you and run away. Jeffrey Dahmer!
Canibalism causes Mad Cow Disease. Proven.
Drinking blood is vampirism and is forbidden in Judaism in the Torah. No thank you anyway.
I NEVER think of human flesh and blood as nourishment, and you shouldn't either, Hannibal Lechter.

Answer 11

PRAYER is the best way to have an intimate relationship with God. The Bible instructs us to pray at all times, in any posture, in any place, for any reason. It does not matter whether you pray using King James English, or ghetto fabulous Ebonics. God only desires that you pray with a sincere heart.