"Forever the Same"
Nov. 15, 2019
For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts.
—Malachi 3:6-7a (ESV)
There is the story of an archaeologist who dug up a coin in Syria dated 32 BC. It had the image of a Roman caesar imprinted upon it. The scholar knew at once that the coin was a fraud, but how?
You need not know any ancient history to answer this question. No one alive in 32 BC. knew that it was 32 years before the birth of Christ. Certainly, no artifact from B.C. would be stamped BC.
When we flipped the record of history from BC to AD, what changed? Some people feel that not only are the terms different, but that somehow God Himself was different. The Old Testament's God of thunderous mountaintop judgment became the New Testament's God of endless, rainbow-arched grace. Once a God of anger. Now God of love.
If we hold such sentiments, they probably exist as a vague, undefined feeling within us. When we stop to examine them in the light of God's Word, we see them to be false. To cite only one Scripture, in Malachi, God says, "I the Lord do not change."
Just knowing correct theological facts, however, doesn't always mean we are able to grasp and use the power of those facts. But if the Word of God really is the "sword of the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:17b), we need to figure out how the Lord meant us to use His Word as a weapon against darkness and against the evil one.
Does it matter that God never changes? "I the Lord do not change," says the prophet. Then he adds. "Therefore, you ... are not consumed." In our faithlessness, we deserve judgment. But God is faithful, even when we are not. God does not change.
If God has ever spoken, He means what He has said forever.
If God has ever made a promise, that promise stands forever firm.
If God has ever loved us, His love endures forever.
If God has ever forgiven our sins, our forgiveness is forever sure.
If God was ever with us, He will abide with us forever.
The God who was before time, the God who created time, the God who broke into human time and changed our way of counting time—from that time on, the God who will at sometime soon end time—this God is our God—the timeless One, the faithful One, the One who invites us to share time—time everlasting—with Him.
THE PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we praise You for Your timeless love and mercy. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
- In what ways has God been consistently faithful in your life?
- How has God's unchanging faithfulness and mercy toward man been best expressed?
- Do you have any life strategies you use to be more consistent—unchanging—in your approach toward others or a goal or some habit you want to establish?
Written by a contributing writer for Lutheran Hour Ministries. Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
In what ways has God been consistently faithful in your life?
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