Why God Made Me – Version 2.0

Those of us who remember our Baltimore Catechism know the answer to this question: “God made me to know Him, to love Him, and serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him for ever in the next” When I was a kid, this was the ultimate urging towards delayed gratification. “Work hard now” they said, “and you will be forever happy at the end of your life.”

If I had had a Jewish grandmother, she might have asked another question: “So what’s wrong with being happy with God in this world?”

The answer? “Nothing, as a matter of fact we have a God who came into this world to heal the sick, relieve suffering, provide wine at wedding parties, tell jokes and riddles, and to call us to a life of joy and service.”

While we have a God who loves us and wants to restore us to wholeness, we live in this world amidst the imperfections of sin. The question is: how do we deal with the results of sin and suffering in this world. Reinhold Niehbuhr’s complete Serenity Prayer gives an answer:

God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can and
The wisdom to know the difference,
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen.
(emphasis added).

Not that anyone asked, but I would offer this answer as version 2.0: “God made me to know Him, to love Him, trusting that accepting hardship in service will lead to happiness with Him in this world, and to be happy with Him for ever in the next.”

Comments

[Julie D.]

I'm so glad you submitted this for the Carnival and that I'm hosting it otherwise I might have missed this post ... which is about something I often have pointed out to people. Also, I've never seen that complete poem before which is wonderful and going into my quotes journal. Thanks!

[alicia]

My dh has the entire prayer on a laminated card, he carried it in his pocket for years and I think still does.
Gotta love the Baltimore Catechism. I wish that it was part of my personal heritage (I'm a convert).