The New City Catechism — Week 1
Question 1 — What is our only hope in life and death?
Answer — That we are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior Jesus Christ.
There is a single idea and truth that separates Disciples of Christ from everyone else in our world. It is a truth that is projected through the creation-shattering story of Eden, and in the fallen world of Noah. It is found in the promises given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and heard in the slave camps of Egypt. It is what guides Israel in the wilderness to a new home. It is the strength of kings and whispered among exiles.
It was displayed at the fullness of time in a baby born in a manger and again on a cross. On the third day, Sunday, God pushes back the darkness of this world and makes accessible to us what was revealed thousands of years ago—Hope. Hope that we are not alone and we belong to the God who loves us so much He gave his Son.
Believes today, can along with the church throughout history find peace and hope knowing that every bit of who we are is safe and secure in the final work of Jesus Christ. From body to soul, life and in death we belong to God and our Savior Jesus Christ. There is nothing that can change that for those who trust in Christ.
We often look at the sin we have committed and think it is too great for even God to work through. But God’s own Word tells us that He is able and willing to go the extra mile for you. Just look at the Son of God and His sacrifice for you, and see that God is able.
Today, tomorrow, next week, and every day until you breathe your last breath, live in the hope knowing you belong to God and that He is our only hope in life and death.
6The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. —Romans 14:6–8 (ESV)