SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE
Some things never change. As most of you are aware, during these past three weeks my family and I were able to visit both sets of parents and all of our siblings on both sides along with their kids. And although there were some changes since the last time we saw them all, a lot of things about our brothers and sisters, moms and dads, nephews and nieces were just about the same as before. We talked about the same kinds of things, we ate at the same kinds of places, we watched the same kinds of shows, we played the same kinds of games - just like usual. And that’s normal. I’m sure your family has certain ways of doing things, different traditions that are always followed, unwritten rules that are generally accepted. Some things just never change. Whether for good or bad, some things never change. And there’s a little bit of comfort in that, isn’t there? It’s nice to know that some things won’t change because that’s what you’re used to, that’s what you expect, that’s what has worked before, that’s what is agreed to or at least put up with by everybody else.
But then, of course, there are those things that will always change whether you want them to or not. The parents and grandparents that were once so youthful and energetic keep getting older. The babies that were once so cute and cuddly keep growing bigger. Your own body that was once so fluid keeps getting tighter and tighter and your mind that was once so sharp keeps forgetting more and more. And it’s kind of a sad thing when those constants that you’ve always assumed would be there and always wanted to remain the same change, isn’t it? It’s a little disheartening when you find out that what you’re used will never be the same again.
Change can be a little disturbing. It can be hard to deal with. And so would you mind if we focused our attention on some reassuring words of God this morning? Words that will give us a little bit of confidence in this ever-changing world? “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Jesus never changes. He does not grow older. He does not get tired. He does not become bored. He does not switch things around on a whim or decide to do something different than what he has always planned to do. Our God is completely stable. That’s why the psalms say over and over again: he is our rock; he is our fortress; he is our refuge; he is the one to whom we can always go; he is the one in whom we can always trust. Our God never changes. And that’s a very good thing.
It’s a very good thing because that means we don’t have to guess. We don’t have to wonder or worry about who he is or what he is going to do or what he wants. Because our good Lord tells us everything he wants us to know about him and what he is doing and what he wants in the plain and simple words of the Bible - and it’s never going to change! The Lord is not going to send us a revised version of Scripture any time soon! He’s not going to come out with the latest publisher’s edition that takes a few things out and adds a few more paragraphs in! No! God doesn’t need to do that! He doesn’t need to add or update or reword anything because what he has told us through the words of the Bible thousands of years ago are just as true today as they were back then. They are not going to go away. They will never be outdated or someday become obsolete. God’s words are eternal. They have survived long before you were ever born and they will continue long after you pass away. And no matter how many things change in this world, no matter how many new ideas are thought up, no matter how many new inventions are built, no matter how many new theories are tested, every one of God’s promises, every one of God’s instructions, every one of God’s commands will never change.
But the consistency of God’s Word can be frustrating too in a way. If you look at what God says in his Word at times, it can be somewhat discouraging that some of those words don’t change. Because let’s be blunt here: we can’t live up to them! We are continually trying to catch up, to make up, to gain some ground on the laws we have failed to keep time and time again. And it’s not going to change either. The commands and the decrees will always be there; the instructions and the directives will never be modified; and we will always find ourselves unable to carry out what is demanded and all too unwilling to avoid what is forbidden. And I hope that’s been noticeable to you throughout your life! I hope you’ve perceived how impossible it is to perform every one of God’s commands as perfectly he wants them to be kept. And that really struck me when I was reading through the first seven verses of this chapter Hebrews 13. Verse eight is that comforting verse, that beautiful phrase that we have already mentioned: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” But the first seven verses leading up to that beautiful gospel are all law! And they are laws I have a hard time dealing with and so I would imagine you do to! Let me list them quickly and you’ll see what I mean:
The first command in this chapter is: “Keep on loving each other as brothers…” I don’t even love my real brothers like brothers, let alone everyone else! “Don’t forget to entertain strangers…” To my shame, I oftentimes avoid strangers because I don’t want to spend my oh-so-valuable time on people I don’t even know. “Remember those in prison…” It’s so easy to forget Christians who are persecuted for their faith when I’m not behind those same bars. “Marriage should be honored by all…” My actions as a husband are rarely honorable. “Keep your lives free from the love of money…” But money buys so many interesting things and pays so many big bills and brings so much financial security! Can’t I love it just a little? “Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith…” If I were half - if I were even a quarter - of the Christian those pastors and teachers and Christians who have gone before me were, that would be a major improvement to the way I live my life now! I hardly every change my sinful ways in order to imitate a Christian’s incredible faith of the past. I’m too sinfully stubborn for that. I’m too comfortable with my own familiar errors to want to do anything about it. Because changing my attitudes and my actions and my words and even my thoughts would take a lot of effort, a lot of sacrifice! To be nicer and kinder and more patience and more faithful in everything I do, to keep God’s unchanging commands better than I have been doing - that’s something that is hard for me to change! It’s so easy to get sinfully stuck, to walk inside the rut that we have made for ourselves, to lie down in the ditch we have fallen into instead of doing everything we can to climb back out. Our sinfulness does not change. But God’s laws do not change. And so we have placed ourselves in an awkward position. We call ourselves Christians but we are in the habit of letting the Lord down every single day. We are experts now, seasoned veterans, of falling far short of what God asks us to do on a regular basis.
But maybe that’s why the writer of the book of Hebrews places chapter thirteen verse eight where he does. Verse eight almost seems out of place, doesn’t it? It almost seems like a break in the line of thought because the author simply lists various commands and encouragements for the first seven verses and then all of the sudden he says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” That’s not a command; it’s a fact. And maybe he wanted to emphasize that these commands are not new fads; they are never-changing decrees. But maybe he also foresaw the guilt and the feelings of shame that his readers would experience from these words. Maybe he wanted to give us a little bit of comfort in knowing that although we cannot always do these things that God asks us to do in the way he wants us to do them, “Jesus Christ is [still] the same yesterday and today and forever.” His laws will not change but neither will his love. The love that he showed his people back then is the same kind of love he shows us right now. And the love that he shows us right now is the same kind of love that he will show us for all eternity. And there’s extreme comfort in that! Because consider the love of God that he has shown his people in the past.
In his love he created this earth purely for the enjoyment of human beings. In his love he gave Adam and Eve a promise of the Savior when they gave his perfect world up for something more. In his love our God preserved his chosen nation throughout the Old Testament even though they proved themselves to be a wicked and stubborn people. In his love he continually sent his prophets to speak the Word of God and write down his promises and judgments. In his love he personally took the form of a man, lived, preached, taught, suffered, died, rose, ascended. This is the love that the Lord has shown us and all of his people in the past. And some things never change. It’s the same kind of love he shows us today. In his love he cancels out debt. In his love he secures our own resurrection. In his love he watches out for us, listens to us, cares for us. In his love he forgives and forgives and forgives when all we do is sin and sin and sin.
Clouds may block the sun from view; trees may shade its light, a roof may keep its occupants from feeling its warmth; but the sun keeps on shining regardless of what’s in front of it. God keeps on loving. He does not stop even if you would stop loving him. He does not stop even if a nation completely rejects him. He does not stop even if everything in your life falls apart around you and you have nothing left to rely on. That love will not diminish over time. That love will not lose its flame. That love will not be stifled or suppressed or taken away. Just as the apostle Paul says, “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38-39). God’s love does not go away. It doesn’t matter if you feel it or not. It doesn’t matter if you see it or not. It doesn’t matter if you can pinpoint its results or can prove that it’s there or not. It’s there. God’s love is always there. And it will never leave.
These past few weeks were nice. It’s always nice seeing family every so often. It’s good to catch up; it’s good to relax; and it’s good to know that they are still pretty much the same. But all of those family members that we saw, all of those people that we talked with, all of those close relatives that we rely on and depend on won’t always be there. They will continue to get older and they will one day die. We don’t like to even think about it but you know it’s going to happen - because it has before! And that’s why a passage like Hebrews 13:8 is so important for us. Your Lord won’t die on you because he already has. He would give up his life for you again if that’s what it would take. But that’s not what it’ll will take; he’s already done everything. And so he stays up every night watching over you while you sleep. He is with you every day making sure that you are safe from harm. He is even getting a spot ready for you in heaven at this very moment. And he does that because he loves you. Because he cares for you. Because he longs for you.
And so go to your never-changing God tonight in prayer and thank him for never changing. Praise him for being so constant and dependable. Thank him for never letting you down. He will enjoy hearing your voice or seeing your thoughts. He always looks forward to giving you all the help you need and then some. Because “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” He will never leave you. He will never forsake you. And that will never change.
Amen.
“May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our fathers. May he never leave us or forsake us.” - 1 Kings 8:57
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