What is your only comfort in life and in death?

1. What is your only comfort in life and in death?

A. I have more than one comfort in life. I cannot answer this question properly. I have only one comfort in death, that is knowing Jesus Christ as my Lord.

My comforts in life includes:

1. A nice house, carpeted, air conditioned, 4 bedrooms, an office, a basement, and clean.

2. Food, good food, I have milk, honey, meat, vegetables, juice, bread, rice, noodles, cheese, butter, various sauces, cookies, cakes, fruits and more.

3. Clothes, warm clothes, nice looking clothes, shoes, socks, great laundry machines.

4. Automobiles. Two of them, in fact. CD players, air conditioned, power windows and so on. Very comfortable.

5. Family, a beautiful and sweet wife. Two very beautiful daughters, and a very supportive parent (who supports me fully for ministry.)

6. Advanced communication devices. Cell phone, wireless internet at home, "Duo-Cores" computers.

7. A neighborhood free of war, terrorism, plagues, pollutions, famines, flood, and earthquakes.

8. A decent healthy body, free of many major diseases and deformities.

In fact, if I lose any one of the things above, I would completely lose my joy and comfort. Even if just my computer crashes will drive me bananas.

How can I, a person who live in such an condition, answer such a question, "my only comfort" in life? No wonder we treat Jesus as the life insurance: we will use him when we die, but before we die I really have no use of him.

What is the answer the Heidelberg Catechism gives to this question?

"That I am not my own, but belong--body and soul, in life and in death-- to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny 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.

1 Cor. 6:19-20, Rom. 14:7-9, 1 Cor. 3:23; Titus 2:14. 1 Peter 1:18-19; 1 John 1:7-9; 2:2. John 8:34-36; Heb. 2:14-15, 1 John 3:1-11. John 6:39-40; 10:27-30 2 Thess. 3:3, 1 Peter 1:5, Matt. 10:29-31; Luke 21:16-18. Rom. 8:28. Rom. 8:15-16; 2 Cor. 1:21-22; 5:5; Eph. 1:13-14, Rom. 8:1-17.

Oh how far I have strayed from the Catechism. I "subscribe" to the 3 forms of unity, but what does it mean? Do I live by it? Do I really know my only comfort Jesus Christ? Or is he just a life insurance policy that I filed away?

Forgive me oh Lord, do not let me learn this Catechism when one of my "comforts" is stripped away from me, teach me now to know thy ways and unite my heart to fear you.