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Malachi 3:6-7
“I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord Almighty.”
What doesn’t change? Seriously, is there anything that doesn’t or can’t be changed? The universe changes, the stars are changing, the sun is changing, and the earth is constantly changing. Anything born is changing right up until the moment it dies. People change in all kinds of different ways. Our governments and establishments are in a constant state of change, and they always will be.
I’m not sure I truly appreciate the fact that God doesn’t change. His promises do not change, promises he made thousands of years ago! When we say we will “never” or “always” do this or that, it is actually a pretty empty guarantee. But when God says he will “never” or “always” do something, we can take that to the bank. Just take a look at a rainbow in the sky if you have any doubts. When God made His covenant with Abraham it had no strings attached. Even through the darkest periods of Israel’s history, God was with them. Even if they chose not to see Him, His promises to them held true. After all, God and His covenant weren’t what had changed, His people did.
This world can sometimes make us think we have to change to keep up with society’s changes. And while change is really good sometimes, especially when we are correcting past mistakes, we probably have to be careful to change simply because it is what everybody else is doing. I have often wondered how Christians, who worship and pray to the same unchanging God–the same God Moses, Jacob, David, the Apostles, and Paul worshipped–can have so many differences about the right and wrong way to worship Him. Or think of when Christians disagree about whose responsibility it is to reach the needy, or take care of the widows and widowers.
Sometimes I wonder if we minimize our responsibility to God and justify our busy lifestyles that can pull us away from God by telling ourselves “God understands how busy I am”. I know I am guilty of that. Again, God doesn’t change. That also means the responsibility of his followers does not change. The ways those responsibilities are carried out may look different over the years, but the expectations of a Christ follower’s commitment to the Church have not changed.
Let us be thankful for those who serve this local church so faithfully, our pastors and staff, our elders and deacons, and all our volunteers. And let’s keep trying to push ourselves to carve out more of our time to serve our God.