westminster catechism q.1

i've been reading the westminster shorter catechism online lately. after all, i am functionally illiterate. books bad. internet good. :).

the westminster catechism is a series of 107 questions compiled in the year 16-something (c'mon, does the year really matter?) the questions relate to who god is, who man is, sin, salvation, the sacraments and other significant doctrines of the christian faith. i haven't read the whole thing yet...still working on it in small pieces. i'll be dropping my thoughts on some of the questions here for a while.

so let's begin with q.1.

Q: what is the chief end of man? A: man's chief end is to glorify god, and to enjoy him forever.

the catechism comes with proof texts for proof and further reading. for this question, they offer psalm 86, isaiah 60:12, romans 11:36, 1 corinthians 6:20, revelation 4:11, psalm 16:5-11, psalm 144:15, isaiah 12:2, luke 2:10, phillipians 4:4 and revelation 21:3-4.

why do we exist? we all ask the question at some point.

the easy "christian" answer sounds a lot like "to glorify god" however we choose to say it. it makes sense right, to bring glory to the god of the universe? yes, and it's very true. but i love the second phrase in this answer. "and to enjoy him forever" is so deep to me. it means so much more than "i'm going to heaven". it means to enjoy the salvation that he has given us even now.

knowing jesus is not about whipping ourselves to a bloody mess once a year because we feel bad that we lied to our momma, and it is not about constantly berating ourselves about our sin so that we live under a dark cloud and are stuck in our guilt. no! knowing jesus means that we can accept wholly the truth that we have been redeemed and sanctified COMPLETELY. and to accept that wholly means that we can finally be grateful and humble people that look in the eyes of god, thank him for doing what we could not do, and enjoy him.

remember in john 21, after jesus resurrection, when he appeared to john and peter? jesus asks peter 3 times if he loves him. three times (not coincidentally the same number of times peter denied knowing him - thanks john for that insight) peter responded that he did love jesus. but the third time he very boldly tells jesus that since he can see inside of him, the REAL peter, that he already knows the answer. peter knew that even though he had betrayed jesus at the loneliest and most difficult time of his life, that he loved jesus. he stood eye to eye with the risen savior with confidence, clearly not in his ability to make good decisions all of the time, but in the fact that the grace of god covers all sin.

it's often our inability to forgive ourselves or to release our old self, the one that was crucified with jesus (which means that it is DEAD in case you missed it) that hinders our ability to "enjoy him forever".

we cannot enjoy him forever until we enjoy him right now. and we cannot enjoy him right now if we continue to return to the place that jesus brought us out of.

are you enjoying him now? or are you caught up with something else that is removing your focus from jesus? are you being hard on yourself because you messed up? or are you dusting yourself off, trying again and being grateful for second, third and 88th chances with god?

what shall we say then? are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? may it never be! how shall we who died to sin still live in it?

DO NOT use the grace of god as an excuse to sin. be obedient to the scriptures, bring him glory. and enjoy him...forever.

sounds like a good new years resolution to me. :)