Question 8 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “How does God carry out His decrees?”

The answer given is, “God carries out His decrees in creation and providence.”

God not only created us and the world around us, he is the one who sustains it with his providence. The next few questions in the catechism add definition to the terms creation and providence.

I am fascinated by the fact that God chooses to work out his will in the world through the prayers of his people. It is not as though God could not accomplish his purpose without our help. God’s providence does not depend upon us, but he allows us to participate in it.

God also chooses to work out his will in the world through the actions of his people. We are called to love God and to love our neighbors. The love of neighbor takes many forms and is the basis for many charitable works. Jesus tells us that an act as simple as giving a cup of water to someone who is thirsty (Matthew 10:42) will earn reward for that act, presumably because it is an act according to what God wants for the thirsty one.

We are also called to be good stewards of the universe that God has created. Christians should be at the forefront of efforts to reduce pollution and conserve resources. We should care about the plants and animals that God has placed on Earth.

God created the world we see around us (including us). God also cares about that world. God cared enough to send Jesus so that in the end, Jesus can fix all the the things we’ve broken.

May that day be soon.

Question 7 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “What are the decrees of God?”

The answer given is, “The decrees of God are his eternal plan, based on the purpose of His will, by which, for His own glory, He has foreordained everything that happens.”

Four things jump out at me when I read this question and answer.

First, there is nothing that happens in the world that takes God by surprise. When our first parents rebelled against God by eating the fruit, God had a plan already in place to send Jesus to fix the resulting mess.

Fast forward to 2016. We are nearing a presidential election in the United States. God knows who will win the election and how he will use the resulting government to build the church. I find that I can so easily lose sight of this truth and get caught up in the hysteria surrounding the political climate. Good theology reminds us that God remains in control.

Secondly, knowledge that God is totally in control should not resign us to a passive fatalism. A search using my Bible software counts 563 imperatives in the New Testament epistles. We are called to live in a certain way and our wills are to be engaged in living out those commands. We are not pre-programmed automatons.

Thirdly, what God decrees is for his own glory. From Question 1 of this catechism, we learn that man’s purpose is to glorify God. So when we are participating in the fulfillment of our purpose, we are also fulfilling the purpose of God.

Fourthly, I am encouraged that I cannot mess up God’s plan through weakness or rebellion. I take great comfort in that fact. Because if the plan of God was up to me, it would certainly result in a train wreck. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said to Peter, “I will build my church.” Jesus is the builder, I am merely a laborer.