Bondage is uncomfortable. Who enjoys gluing their fingers together with superglue? What wrestler enjoys not being able to move as his shoulder blades are pinned to the mat? Who wants to be in handcuffs or behind bars? Bondage is uncomfortable. Freedom, on the other hand, is a universal delight. Heidelberg Catechism 1 states that our only comfort in life and death is that Jesus Christ “has set [us] free from all the power [or tyranny] of the devil.” This presupposes that we were in...
Author - Jonathan Shirk
Years ago, when I was the Director of Student Ministry at a church in the North Hills of Pittsburgh, I invited a family to go out to Rita’s Italian Ice with my wife and me. The invitation was accompanied with my offer to pay. When we got to Rita’s, I realized I was missing something important – my wallet. I couldn’t pay. I guess I could’ve scrounged up a few coins from the car, but I wouldn’t have been able to pay the full bill. Rather than dejectedly heading back to the car and...
What gives you comfort? Your hands enfolding a cup of tea? Savoring a piece of chocolate cake? Falling into the loving embrace of your spouse? Sitting beside a crackling fire in your favorite sweater with good book in hand? There are many pleasures in this life that do give wonderful comfort, but nothing comforts the soul accept the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Question one of the Heidelberg Catechism asks a good question about comfort. It asks, “What is your only comfort in life and...