Fridays with the Heidelberg

We jumped in swimming last week with the first reading, where Q:1(the most familiar question from this catechism) pointed us to Christ as our only comfort in life and in death.

Before we look at the second reading, a few initial thoughts concerning our ongoing catechetical( a word I look forward to typing often!) journey;

- The summer after I graduating High School, I visited Heidelberg, Germany. There is no real significance to this fact, but I wanted to mention it.

- Last year, I read The Good News We Almost Forgot by Kevin DeYoung. It focused on rediscovering the rich truth contained in the Heidelberg regarding the gospel. The inspiration for Friday's with the Heidelberg began while reading through this book.

- The general outline for the Heidelberg is broken down into 3 sections;
1. Of the misery of man.
2. Of the redemption of man.
3. Of the gratitude due from man (duties, etc.).

The section on the misery of man begins in today's reading.

Lord's Day reading #2;

3. Q: HOW DO YOU COME TO KNOW YOUR MISERY?
A: The Law of God tells me.

4. Q: WHAT DOES GOD'S LAW REQUIRE OF US?
A: Christ teaches us this in summary in Matthew 22- "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

5. Q: CAN YOU LIVE UP TO ALL THIS PERFECTLY?
A: No. I have a natural tendency to hate God and my neighbor.


A fundamental observation I have concerning this reading we must understand our miserable condition in order to arrive at the comfort of being in Christ. This is foolishness to the world but essential to the Christian life.

The Law points us to God's holy standard and our inability to live out God's standard. We need the bad news before we can recognize the "goodness" of the good news.

One final thought, Q:5 is a call to arms in parenting. What an awesome responsibility we have as parents. We are the ones God has called to "bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." And make no mistake, our children desperately need this discipline and instruction because they are born with a "natural tendency to hate God and his neighbor."

I encourage you to read through these Q & A's and discuss them with your families this weekend. Comments regarding this blog are also welcomed and encouraged!