One Thing Never Changes

One Thing Never Changes“Change is the one thing you can count on,” said the population expert. The meteorologist put it this way: “The only constant on earth is change. Just look at the weather.” The technology expert predicted, “We’ll see more change in the closing years of this century than in all the rest of it combined.” But change is not just taking place in population, nature and technology. Consider the borders of nations, as well as their political and economic structures. Where is East Germany today? The USSR? Zaire? Change makes us very uncertain about the future. Should we let it alter our relationship with God? Should we give up when we see so much legalism and laxity co-existing in the Church today? And so much hypocrisy? Should we give up and start living like the world because, as Malachi 3:15 (NIV) puts it, the “arrogant are blessed ... evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape”? Should we give up on God as those in Malachi’s day did, saying, “It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out His requirements?” We may not know what changes the days ahead will bring, but we do know that the One who will see us through these changes never changes. How do we know? Malachi tells us what the Lord Himself said, “I the Lord do not change” (3:6). And James 1:17 says, “The Father ... does not change like shifting shadows.” Then Hebrews 13:8 reassures us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” When change makes the present look bleak and the future look even darker, those who fear the Lord should remember His constancy, encourage one another and meditate on His name together (Mal. 3:16). This is just one of the messages the prophet Malachi brings us in the last book of the Old Testament. Do you want to know more about this prophet and his other messages for us? Please turn to our two features. By Larry Ondrejack