Praying the Blues - Mining the Catechism

In addition to our Creeds and Confessions, we have a Contemporary Testimony called “Our World Belongs to God” that tells the story of the meaning of life in a concise, understandable way.  Here is an excerpt:

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15. When humans deface God’s image,

the whole world suffers:

we abuse the creation or idolize it;

we are estranged from our Creator,

from our neighbor,

from our true selves,

and from all that God has made.

On the defacing of God’s image, see Romans 1:21-23; for the restoration of the image in Christ, see Romans 8:29, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Ephesians 4:22-24, and Colossians 3:10.

16. All spheres of life—

family and friendship,

work and worship,

school and state,

play and art—

bear the wounds of our rebellion.

Sin is present everywhere—

in pride of race,

arrogance of nations,

abuse of the weak and helpless,

disregard for water, air, and soil,

destruction of living creatures,

slavery, murder, terror, and war,

worship of false gods,

the mistreatment of our bodies,

and our frantic efforts to escape reality.

We become victims of our own sin.

Among many passages, see Psalm 14 and 53, Amos 1-2, Romans 1:28-32, and Galatians 5:19-21.

17. In all our striving

to excuse or save ourselves,

we stand condemned

before the God of truth.

But our world,

broken and scarred,

still belongs to God,

who holds it together

and gives us hope.

See Psalm 62 and 89:28-37; Romans 5:3-11; 15:13; and Hebrews 11:1.

55. Our hope for a new creation is not tied to what humans can do,

for we believe that one day

every challenge to God’s rule will be crushed.

His kingdom will fully come, and the Lord will rule.

Come, Lord Jesus, come.

On this hope, see 1 Peter 1:3-12, 2 Peter 3:3-13, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11, and Revelation 11:15.

57. On that day we will see our Savior face to face,

sacrificed Lamb and triumphant King, just and gracious.

He will set all things right, judge evil, and condemn the wicked.

We face that day without fear,

for the Judge is our Savior,

whose shed blood declares us righteous.

We live confidently, anticipating his coming,

offering him our daily lives—

our acts of kindness,

our loyalty, and our love—

knowing that he will weave

even our sins and sorrows

into his sovereign purpose.

Come, Lord Jesus, come.

Revelation 5 describes the Lion and the Lamb. For the just judgments of the Lord, see Revelation 19:1-10. A picture of the multitude of those declared righteous in Christ is found in Revelation 7:9-17. The concept of God weaving all things together is found, among other places, in Romans 8:28-39.