Comfort for the 2020 World at Home

One of the purposes of the gospel is to give us comfort. In Romans 15:4 we read that the Bible is not only meant to instruct us, but also to encourage and comfort us by giving us hope. “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” The Bible is therefore a book of comfort. 

The greatest jewel in the world is the comfort of the gospel which many today have lost. If we are genuine children of God, we know how great our sins are. We also know how great God’s demand is, which we can never fulfill because of our sinfulness. We know that if salvation depended upon our own works, we can never have real assurance of our salvation. For we can never be sure whether we have done enough to be saved. Thus, we can never have comfort or rest for our souls. 

The political, religious, and moral climate of our time offers no comfort or rest for our souls. These are times of disease, death, and persecution. This is especially true in countries where many have lost their lives because of their faith. And the news of this persecution along with pandemic disease and death has reached the ears of all of us in our digital world. How fitting then for God’s children to begin to bring a word of comfort in such trying times.

How do we define “comfort?” Comfort is the peace of mind that arises out of God’s promised mercy, which eases fear, anxiety and sorrow. What causes this fear in us? What arouses this anxiety? From where does this sorrow arise? From our fall into sin! Our sin arouses the wrath of our holy and jealous God.  The pandemic coronavirus should give us an indication of the consuming wrath of God and should make us tremble in fear. Furthermore, our sin is punished with God’s curse. And the effects of this curse, such as pain, sickness and death, all give birth to sorrow - the sorrow we see all around us.  Simply removing the miserable effects of sin will not remove the curse of sin; we need God to remove the curse.

Comfort arises from the mercy of God. That is clear from Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 1:3, where Paul describes God as “the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort.” The only source of comfort lies in the mercy of God which He has shown to us in Christ Jesus. There is no other comfort than that which comes from our gracious God, through the forgiveness of our sins and the righteousness of Christ. In Isaiah 40:1, we read “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” says your God. “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned.” Like Israel, our comfort is based on God’s promise that His children’s punishment will come to an end, because God would pardon their sins.

The unbeliever who is ignorant or who rejects the comfort that arises from God’s grace looks for another source of comfort. But, the most any of us can find in this life is some temporary respite from the miserable consequences of sin.  America, for the most part, has been able to amass wealth, so that we can enjoy many physical comforts, such as a nice home and good food. Many of us do not have the discomfort of being left out in the cold, nor the discomfort of hunger pains. Our governments might be able to make advancements in medicine, which alleviate some of the pain and suffering of the caronavirus. Yet such “comforts” only affect our outward body. The believer, however, enjoys peace of mind. For, his soul is quieted within him.

Our only comfort comes from belonging to Jesus Christ. What does it mean to belong to Jesus Christ? It means that we become His responsibility. He has made Himself our Savior, our Redeemer, our Protector, our Provider.  The life of an orphan in a third world country where there is poverty and famine is not a good life. He does not belong to anyone. He is not able to stand on his own and provide for himself. Can you imagine what joy he would feel if he were adopted by loving parents who could provide him with what he needed for life? How comforting it would be for him to know that he belonged to someone, that someone was willing to be responsible for his life, his well-being. That is what it means to belong to Jesus Christ. We were like orphans - or worse! We had sold ourselves to Satan through sin. We had become his children. Yet Satan did not seek our well-being; he sought our ruin. How wonderful to belong to Jesus Christ!