This summer, I’m planning walking through a little refresher on the Small Catechism. If it has been a while, you can always check it out at http://catechism.cph.org .

Luther didn’t invent the idea of the catechism. Catechisms had existed for quite some time, some argue from even around 70 AD, not long after Jesus had died. In Luther’s day, there were several catechisms that were floating about in the Roman Catholic church. But when Luther wrote his catechism, he did something different. Most catechisms started with the Creed, but he started with the 10 commandments.

Starting with the creeds, like the other catechisms did, made sense. If a catechism was a book that helped you to learn about God, then starting with “who God is” made quite a bit of sense. But Luther didn’t start with who God was, necessarily. Instead, Luther started with who we are as human beings – namely, that we are creatures, created by God for a purpose and with a design.

The 10 Commandments show us the design that God created us with as human beings. That design can be summed up in Jesus’ words: We are to love God with our whole beings, and we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. The 10 commandments show us how to do this.

The first 3 commandments show us our design in our relationship with God. We are to have no other gods, but remain devoted to Him alone. We are to use God’s name every day, just not misuse it. We are to rest and receive God’s gifts. The remaining commandments then show us how to love our neighbor. Noticeably, most of these commandments show us how to love our neighbor by creating a frame of what *not* to do. Not to murder, not to steal, not to commit adultery, not to bear false witness, not to covet. But the fourth commandment, about our parents and authorities, so us that we are to treat people with respect and dignity (and likewise act in a way worthy of the respect of others).

All of this is to show us how we are supposed to live as creatures, designed by God for the purpose of loving Him and loving our neighbors. So maybe go and check in on that first part of the catechism, the 10 commandments, and consider today how you might live out a little more of God’s design for your life – knowing that when you break those commandments (which you will), God has sent His Son to forgive you and restore that design.