What is your only comfort?

Q. What is your only comfort
in life and in death?

A. That I am not my own,
but belong—
body and soul,
in life and in death—
to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.

He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood,
and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.
He also watches over me in such a way
that not a hair can fall from my head
without the will of my Father in heaven:
in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.

Because I belong to him,
Christ, by his Holy Spirit,
assures me of eternal life
and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready
from now on to live for him.

Certainly the most familiar words from the 450 year old document come from this first quesion and answer – and for good reason! There is so much here to be packed that we could camp out here for a long, long time. In fact that’s just what I did for awhile during college. In a time of uncertainty in my life and deep worries, I turned to this Q&A for deep comfort. I memorized the lines: “I am not my own, but belong – body and soul, in life and in death – to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.” That phrase I turned into a breath prayer. Throughout the day I would pray it repeatedly – “I am not my own, but I BELONG to you Lord and you are faithful.” In this way, my heart did find comfort.