From the Pastor's Desk
Peter Brown
Q. What is Our Only Hope in Life and Death?
A. That we are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior Jesus Christ. (New City Catechism, Question 1)
Recently, I started taking my children through the New City Catechism (http://newcitycatechism.com/), just one question per week. They loved reciting the answer during our dinner time and even added an “Amen” at the end. Every night we would review one question and answer so that it would stay fresh in their minds, and every time we did this, it also stayed fresh in my mind.
In recent days, as the world continued to struggle with COVID-19 to varying degrees, I began to have a strange feeling. It was almost as if everything was normal, but at the same time, everything was not. Everything was normal in the sense that Taiwan has largely not been affected by the coronavirus. At least, not in the way that other nations have been. And with the number of cases in Taiwan reaching zero for several days, people have begun relaxing and not even wearing masks in public. We have been able to go to restaurants, work, school, and live life as if nothing had ever changed.
Even the masks were a fairly normal thing. However, being an international church with friends and families from all around the world, we hear stories of people suffering and struggling with the virus, the lockdowns, the inability to work, and even the fear of what life will be like if the virus were to pass. Things seem normal, and yet they are not.
What was the result of this strange feeling? I wanted to escape. There were things that needed to be done, but I just wanted to relax. I did not want to deal with these things anymore. I wanted things to be done and over with. Have you ever felt this way?
During times like these, this first question, and answer, from the New City Catechism speaks volumes into how we view life and death. If I put my hope in things becoming “normal” again, or if I put my hope in trying to avoid thinking that things will get better, then I have placed my hope in the idea that life on earth is where I should experience true peace and escape and rest. I am seeking to make my life on earth some kind of heaven where my final hope lies.
However, as Christians, this is not what we believe. We have a future hope! We have eternity to be with Christ! And the only reason why we have this future hope is because of what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross for our sins, for the ways that we take our eyes off of Jesus and place our hope in something else.
What is our only hope in life and death? That our lives go beyond this life. That this life is not the end of the story. That there is a greater hope of what life should be all about because we belong to Jesus. And that this life that “should be” is found only in a relationship with Jesus Christ. This means that the life we live, and even the death we die, both have a purpose—to live for Jesus and what He plans for us. We live and even die to know Jesus and to make Him known. And along the way, we trust that the Lord will care for us and provide us with everything we need as we live for Him. In life and death.
