What hope have I got?

Have you ever wanted something and then discovered how much it costs? Have you ever wanted to travel somewhere only to discover how far away it is? At both times, you might think - what hope have I got?  I could never afford to buy that.  I could never reach that place - too far to go on my bike and too remote of buses or cars to make it. The first question of the New City Catechism is about hope.

What is our only hope in life and death?

That we are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Saviour Jesus Christ.

No matter how rich we are, there are some debts we cannot pay. No matter how brave or well resourced we are, there are some journeys we don't want to travel alone. The good news of the gospel is that God has paid our greatest debt, the one we worked up by sinning against him.  We had no hope of paying it, but he has paid it, so we don't have to. And he doesn't simply pay our debt link an anoymous donor.  He walks with us, through life and even through death.    We are not alone.  God, who is love, is with us and cares for us, every step of the way.