I am working for my church part time and was putting together the Power Point presentation yesterday for Sunday's sermon. I'm so glad I had to type this out, because it made me slow down and really think about it...and it's awesome! The Heidelberg Catechism question #1 and #2. I've recited this a thousand times on Sunday mornings, but it happens so fast that it's hard to sink your teeth into. Reading it and taking it in is just an amazing way to start the day.
What is your only comfort in life and in death?
That I am not my own, but belong body and soul, in life and in death to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. Christ has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.
What must you know to live and die in the joy of this comfort?
Three things: first, how great my sin and misery are; second, how I am set free from all my sins and misery; third, how I am to thank God for such redemption.
The fact that not a hair can fall from our heads unless it is the will of the Father and that in every act there is a focused purpose of those events working together for our salvation sounds amazing...until I'm honest. This truthfully makes me nervous since really I just want it to say that he will make everything turn out the way I want and be comfortable and easy in this life. Why is my heart and mind so fascinated with ease, self and comfort?! The Bible states that my true comfort is knowing these truths about myself and God. Firstly, how great my sin is, and secondly, how much I have been set free in Christ from it. This is the only way to experience true joy and comfort whether I am very much alive, or feeling like death.
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