WEBCAST –
When Jenny and I were young parents raising our small children were diligent to have them memorize the questions and answers in the The Shorter Catechism for Children. Here are the first three Q&A’s:
1. Q. Who made you? A. God
2. Q. What else did God make? A. God made all things
3. Q. Why did God make you and all things? A. For His Own glory
Each Q&A has a Bible verse which affirms the stated answer, The text for Q&A 3 is Romans 11:36 which states, “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” That verse, Romans 11:36, is the summary statement for everything that has been written in the first 11 chapters or Paul’s Letter to the Romans. It explains the ultimate reason and purpose that God designed and created the world and people He did. That world and those people were damaged severely due to man’s disobedience to God but are being restored through the ongoing ministry of God’s Son.
As we have discussed the multiple tensions and discomfort of the world and people God has made presented in Romans chapters 1-11, none of us are without struggle. We wonder and even purport that perhaps things would have turned out better if God had done some things differently. Such considerations are founded upon the perspective of what would be best for individual people or the general state of all mankind, placing our self-interest above God’s. The 3rd Q&A in the children’s catechism corrects our speculations as being wrong in the most fundamental sense.