Comfort that Emboldens

Q 1: What is your only comfort in life and in death?

A: 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.

Comfort is a lovely thing, isn’t it? Even the word might evoke a certain feeling of peace and warmth. But comfort is also a powerful, emboldening thing. Presbyterian pastor Craig Barnes describes an example:

Imagine the way that a child will seek out their parent for comfort when they’ve crashed their bike or some similar calamity. The child runs to their parent, who wraps the little one up in big, loving arms. The child cries while sitting on mommy or daddy’s lap. Tears are wiped away. Comfort given.

Once fully comforted, the child wrestles out of the hug and hops down - ready to embark on another adventure. They are emboldened to go by the knowledge that they can come back to the comfort of their parent’s lap anytime they need.

The catechism teaches that our comfort is caught up in the fact that we belong to Christ–thus we are assured of eternal life. The comfort of Christ empowers us to endure even the most difficult and painful of times.

It was such deep assurance that allowed Paul to endure suffering and difficulty in his own life:

“That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know

whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted

to him until that day.” (2 Timothy 1:12)

John Calvin wrote on this passage of scripture, “This is the only refuge of the godly.”

This is it. It’s our only refuge. Our only hope. Our only comfort.

This is the truth of the catechism. The Holy Spirit convinces us to our core that eternal life is assured for us. When our lives are entrusted to Christ, we belong entirely to him, and he will guard us. Only then is it possible to live in a world that is so desperately lacking in peace and true comfort. The world is uncertain. Its creature comforts are fleeting. The world is scary, and it often hurts.

But the children of Christ are not paralyzed by fear, anxiety, or uncertainty. Because we are comforted so deeply–so perfectly–by him, we are emboldened to hop down from his lap and run into the world. Not much is certain in this life; but for those in Christ, the one certainty is eternal life. May that knowledge deeply comfort your hearts and make you “wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.”

~ Pastor Tim