Grace and Peace Episode 13
Presbyterian Church of Easton
November 24, 2020
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:2
Heidelberg Catechism
26Q. What do you believe when you say, “I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth”?
A. That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of nothing created heaven and earth and everything in them, who still upholds and rules them by his eternal counsel and providence, is my God and Father because of Christ the Son. I trust God so much that I do not doubt he will provide whatever I need for body and soul and will turn to my good whatever adversity he sends upon me in this sad world. God is able to do this because he is almighty God and desires to do this because he is a faithful Father.
The Apostles Creed begins with the simple words, “I believe”. When we say “I believe” we can mean different things. First, we might mean that we “think that something is true, but don't know for sure”. For example, if you asked me when Grace will be home this afternoon I might say something like, “I believe that she will be here around 3.” By this, I would mean that “I think she will be home around 3 because she usually is, but I am not really sure when she will be home today.” Or, we might mean that we believe something because we have certain knowledge of it. For example, we believe that water will boil at 212 degrees. Or remember when you first dove off the high dive into the swimming pool. You believed that you would survive contact with the water, but until you did it for the first time you weren’t so sure. You believed but did not fully trust it. I think that in the Apostles’ Creed the words “I believe” means that we trust God with our lives.
We read in Romans 8:14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" 16 it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God.
So according to the Apostle Paul, we believe in God in the same way that a child believes in her mother and father. We trust our lives to God. We trust that God will provide what we need each day. We trust that God will protect us from the virus. We trust that God will love us and bless us so that we will be a blessing for others. We trust that God will be with us when our health fails, our parents age, our jobs are lost, and our relationships end. When we say “I believe in God the Father” we mean that we trust that God will care for us just as a parent cares for a child. We trust our Heavenly Father with our lives. Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for blessing us as a parent blesses a child. We trust you with our lives as much as a young child trusts her parents. And with Christians for 2000 years we say with our lips, “I believe in God, the Father Almighty.” Amen.
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