There is nothing more comforting and more hopeful than belonging, body and soul, both in life and in death, to God and to our Savior Jesus Christ. We find it sometimes impossible to work ourselves into a sweat for our own health, yet Jesus sweat drops of blood as He worked eternal redemption for us. He loves us far more and far better than we love ourselves, and as our Creator, He knows what is best for us far better than we do. 

This first question is clearly inspired by the first question of the Heidelberg Catechism, which reads:

Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death?

A. That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ, who, with His precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me, that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; yes, that all things must work together for my salvation. Wherefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me heartily willing and ready henceforth to live unto Him.

As you can see, the heart of both questions is the same, yet significant changes have been made to both the question and the answer. In regard to the question, the word hope has replaced the word comfort, and I believe that change was a wise one for the 21st Century. Today comfort carries almost exclusively the connotation of nurturing care for the purpose of easing someone’s sorrow or distress. Yet the word originally meant nurturing care for the purpose of strengthening someone through sorrow or distress. The shift is subtle but still significant. The biblical view of comfort is certainly the latter and original meaning. Indeed, as our Comforter, the Holy Spirit does not ease our afflictions throughout this life; instead, He strengthens us to endure them.

Because of the linguistic change of the word comfort, hope is probably a more necessary word today. Biblically, hope is faith and confidence in what is still to come. Indeed, Hebrews 11:1 entwines faith and hope together. Faith is the present assurance of hope, and hope is the future telos, or goal, of faith. Thus, while the opposite of faith is unbelief, the opposite of hope is despair, and the typical Western individual has been locked in Despair’s prison for some time, as ever-rising antidepressant prescriptions continue to indicate.

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