The old Baltimore Catechism asks this
question: “Why did God make you?” The correct answer is: “God made me to know
Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him
forever in the next.”
Millions of Americans who attended
parochial schools in the 1940s and ‘50s memorized this answer and could spout
it out on demand, although to be honest, many did so just to avoid the wooden
ruler wielded by Sister Mary Margaret Knucklewacker.
Nonetheless, the correct answer does
contain profound theological truths. This weekend is the feast of the Most Holy
Trinity, when we celebrate the mystery of one God in three Persons. Let’s look
at the Baltimore Catechism’s three key verbs regarding God: know Him, love Him,
and serve Him.
KNOW HIM
The very idea that we can know the
eternal, Almighty Creator of the Universe is mind-boggling. Throughout much of
recorded history, mankind has considered the Divine Creator to be too powerful
and too mysterious and too distant to be known.
The fact is, unless God actively
reveals Himself to us, our understanding of Him will be at best very general
and vague. At the heart of Christianity is the idea of divine revelation. God
has clearly revealed to us the mysteries of who He is, what He is like, why He
created us, and what He expects from us. God most definitely wants us to know
Him, and He has made sure that we can.
LOVE HIM
We human beings already know that we
are capable of love. Most of us have loving relationships with our family
members and our friends. To love God means that He also must be capable of entering
into loving relationships. In fact, He can. This is because God is a Person. He
has a personality, just as we do. God’s very nature is love. That is why He
created the Universe in the first place. Sadly, many people nowadays reject
God’s love because they don’t even realize He is offering His love to us.
SERVE HIM
Based on the simple facts of the
situation—God is God and we are not—we have a duty to serve Him. After all, He
is the one who gave us life. He is the Creator; we are the created beings.
Despite what we often think, we are not in charge. When we understand this, the
most logical and rational conclusion is that we should serve God, whether we
like it or not. And nowadays, most people most definitely do not like it.
Modern Americans hate the idea of
serving someone else. What a shame it is that we have such a selfish, “It’s all
about me” attitude, when the fact is, serving someone else is the key component
of a truly loving relationship. Take a minute to think of a married couple that
you would describe as “happily married.” Most likely each spouse takes time to
serve the other. Each spouse is less concerned about his or her own needs and
more concerned about the needs of the other spouse.
Serving God is the exact same
thing—only better. It is not a dreary obligation. It is a joyous opportunity.
Although the Baltimore Catechism has
been all but forgotten these days (along with most other forms of sound
doctrinal instruction, just sayin’), we can learn a lot from this simple and
yet profound lesson. God made us to KNOW Him, to LOVE Him, and to SERVE Him.
These three actions are indeed possible. There is no threat of the wooden ruler
anymore. Just the opportunity to understand why we exist, and what we need do
to fulfill the fantastic plan God has for our lives.
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