Things change--even though we might not want them to, things change: technology is developing at a terrific rate, American society is undergoing great changes. It was less than a century ago that man had never flown; in fact, diseases have both disappeared and developed; and not so very long ago, none of us would have thought that men would use a passenger aircraft as a weapon. Things change--and even on a much closer, personal scale. We have children--and in just a short time, they are marrying and having children of their own. Our houses and cars are wearing down, and parts need replacing; and we ourselves are wearing down as we replace those parts. We are all growing older, friends and relatives are dying, and while I might like to think of myself as simply looking more distinguished each day, in fact, I am just getting closer to the day of my own death. Things change--even where we don't like them to. Fortunately, we can take heart--because in scripture we find that are some things will never change!
While we recognize that all those things that surround us are in a constant state of change, the One who created it all is unchanging--He remains the same. He is eternal, which means that he is unaffected by the ravages of time. The psalmist said of God in Psalm 102:25-27, "Of old You founded the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. Even they will perish, but You endure; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end."
Yes, it's true that change is all around us, because all these things--those things we can see, smell, taste, touch, and hear--all these things are temporal; they are not meant to last forever. But that is not so of the Father in Heaven. In fact, James points out that he is not just eternal in nature, but even His character remains constant. People can be two-faced, but not so with God. In Jas 1:17 we read that, "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." Shadows change throughout the day--they grow shorter and longer, they change directions--but God's kindness is constant; he is faithful.
It is interesting to note that the passage we read from Psalm 102 is quoted in Hebrews 1:10-12; but it is applied to Jesus. "YOU, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH, AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS; THEY WILL PERISH, BUT YOU REMAIN; AND THEY ALL WILL BECOME OLD LIKE A GARMENT, AND LIKE A MANTLE YOU WILL ROLL THEM UP; LIKE A GARMENT THEY WILL ALSO BE CHANGED. BUT YOU ARE THE SAME, AND YOUR YEARS WILL NOT COME TO AN END." Jesus is, and always has been divine--He is God, the son. So we read in Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."
It is comforting to know that in the midst of all the change going on around us, that God can be counted on time after time.Because of that, another thing that is unchanging is His word. Peter, speaking to Christians in 1 Peter 1:23-25, said that "...you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God." So the Christian is born again through the word of God--the gospel. Remember, it is through the gospel that God calls us to become His children; and Peter says here that it is living and enduring, so he continues, "...'ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF, BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER.' And this is the word which was preached to you." Just like the grass that we see in the field grow tall, but later die; and the flowers that are in it bloom, and later wither away, we too, are going to die. But God's word--the gospel and all it contains, God's promises--they will not change. Just like God himself, they are eternal; we can count on them, they will come to pass. So, it is written in Isaiah 55:10,11, "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it."
We can count on God to keep His word; in fact, Heb 6:18 says outright, "that it is impossible for God to lie."
That being the case, there are going to be some really important changes coming up! Now, I had said that God's kindness is constant, and that He is faithful. That's true. But He is also just, and He promised that Jesus would come again in judgement. Peter spoke of this promise and those who would make fun of it in 2 Peter 3:3,4. There, we read, "...mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.'" Some seem to have gotten the idea that since Jesus hadn't come yet, he wasn't coming. But he continued on in verse 10, saying that "...the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up." That is real change! Everything we have, all those things we talked about that we can see, smell, taste, touch, and hear--they will all be destroyed when Christ returns.
Fortunately, for the Christian, there is another promise that God has made--and that is of a home in Heaven, one that is not temporal and that will last forever. Again, Peter wrote of it, this time in 1 Peter 1:3,4 who said that God had "...caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven..." (1 Pet 1:3-4)
Things change, both now, and especially, at the end of time; but if we are children of God--if we are Christians--we can have confidence. We can say as the writer of Psalm 46, beginning verse 1, "God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride." As Christians, we can have confidence in God, and in His word.
There is a song we sing at times that, I think, aptly reflects this thought: "Time is filled with swift transition; naught of earth unmoved can stand. Build your hopes on things eternal--hold to God's unchanging hand."
