Lessons from the Passover

I have been thinking a lot lately about Grace and Works. What is their relationship and if I am going to put an emphasis on works, how can I include Christ? A lot of my questions were answered from the Passover story.

The Passover was instituted for multiple reasons, but one of them (Ex 12:14) was to "be a memorial unto the people." They were supposed to Remember! While they ate the herbs they remembered their physical and spiritual bitterness while in Egypt (and hopefully that Jehovah would later partake of the "bitter cup"). While they cleaned out all of the leaven from their houses, and then ate of the unleavened bread, they remembered that spiritual "leaven," or sin, makes us go moldy (and that God is the Bread of Life). I've also noticed that repenting, or getting the leaven out of my life, takes away the bitter taste in my mouth.

While they ate, the people were instructed to do so "in haste," with staff in hand on their loins girded. There were to remember to leave Egypt as soon as they could (and all of its wicked traditions!), and not to linger behind when Jehovah wanted them to leave right away.

Most of all, they were to remember the Lamb of God. Raising the lamb, then killing it, saving the blood, and then preparing and roasting the meat, would have been a great reminder to me of what the Savior would go through in the future. It must have been a solemn and sacred night to remember all of those things.

The best lesson of all, to me, is the blood of the lamb. It was not just the lamb dying that saved them from the destroying angel, but its blood that was applied to the doorposts. As I thought about how I can apply Christ's blood to my "doorpost," and the doorposts of my family's house, the teachings of Christ came to life. Although Christ suffered in Gethsemane and died at Golgotha, His blood cannot save me unless I know how to put it on correctly.

Recently I have been thinking a lot about the phrase "apply the Atonement in your life." It didn't make sense to me. How do you "apply the Atonement?" I think sometimes we use it as a blanket statement for unspecific application of the Gospel. I didn't like the statement because it doesn't direct works or change to Christ. But today, that statement finally makes sense. In order for the Israelites to be protected from the destroying angel, they needed to (A) raise a lamb with the correct specifications, (B) kill the lamb on the evening of Passover, (C) collect the blood, (D) put the blood on the top and sides of the doorposts, and (E) cook and eat the lamb correctly. What amazing symbolism!

In order for me to be saved spiritually, I need to (A) learn about Christ and study His words, (B) know that He died for me and for my sins and for my better future "outside of Egypt," (C) "catch" His blood - or to understand the point of why He died, and finally to (D) follow His teachings, apply them to all parts of my life, and trust that it is not my actions that will get me out of Egypt, but His atoning sacrifice applied correctly.

I know that Christ lives. His death is what brings good into my life and what takes the bad out. Sometimes I wish we still did cool symbolism like the Passover, but I also know that today we do the same thing when we partake of the Sacrament. Always remembering His death and Resurrection, taking His name in my life, and keeping His commandments does the same thing today as it does then - allows Christ to keep out the destroying angel and have His Spirit to be with me.