Heidelbergian Children's Catechism (age 8- 10 years)
Lord's Day 18
You are growing, but your bike is not. 50, you need a bigger bike. Cathy’s father has bought a bigger bike for her. Tomorrow he is going to pick it up.Till that time, she has to be patient. Cathy wants to know everything about the bike. “Dad, is the colour blue or red? How many years does it have? Does it have straight handlebars?” Her father tells her all he remembers. Cathy has not seen the bike.Yet she knows what the bike looks like. She sees it through the eyes of her father. We have not seen the Lord Jesus. But we know all we need to know about Him. He Himself made sure that would happen. When He lived on earth, He chose twelve disciples, who were with Him almost all of the time. They had to use their eyes and ears. They had to carefully watch (use their eyes!) when Jesus did something. And they had to carefully listen (use their ears!) when Jesus said something. The disciples did that for you. And for all God’s children. What they saw and heard is written in the Bible. Now we can read what the Lord Jesus did and said. That is how we know that Lazarus came out of the grave. And that people who had terrible diseases became healthy. And we know many things Jesus has said. We also know that He went up to heaven. That is explained in this Lord’s Day 18. The Bible says that the disciples saw it happen. And now you understand that we can say we have seen it through the eyes of the disciples. The disciples were rather sad when they saw Jesus leaving. They kept looking up in the sky, even when He had disappeared. But then two angels came. “Do not be sad, disciples. He is now far away, but He will come back later when the new earth begins,” Then they were glad when they left the Mount of Olives and returned to Jerusalem. Yet,Jesus Christ has not totally disappeared. He is in heaven with his body, as a man. But He is also close to us. He is interested in what you do and what you think. He also knows it whether you really love Him, or whether you hardly think about Him. Don’t forget to pray. Ask Him that He will be close to you. And ask Him that his Holy Spirit will live in your heart. There is something else, as well. Pinch your arm, or your cheek.That is your body.You are not made of plastic or made of stone.You have bones and f1esh. The Lord Jesus, too, has flesh and bone. When He went to heaven, He went there with his body to live with God. And this means that later all God’s children in their body can live with God! Good to know.