Thursday, February 17, 2011

But You Remain

Think of everything that changes from day-to-day in your world: what you eat, what you wear, gas prices, daily routines and routes; your work environment, your MOOD (Don't you dare deny it! We all have a moody gene in us--some of us express it more than others--just sayin); your overall health, your plans and on, and on! Change is inevitable and for those of us that like things to remain constant---it can be a rough world to live in! Everyday I feel like I am having to surrender my natural tendency to desire things to be the same or within a realm of control. There's a verse in Hebrews that stood out to me this morning, let's read it together:

"And, You, Lord, laid the foundation of the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end." Hebrews 1: 10-12

The passage prior to these verses is addressing the supremacy of Christ. I was originally reading through Colossians 1 and then cross referenced to this passage and found a similar theme of defining Christ's role in creation and His supremacy. We often see Christ as coming in around the Christmas story, when in reality, Christ laid the foundation of the earth! He was there with Adam and Eve...and before! This passage of scripture also addresses Christ supremacy over angels. I feel like we put angels on a to tum pole within our society as supreme beings when God created them to serve us--to serve the Church and worship Him (vs. 7,14). But that's another topic to discuss--let's get back to this passage.

So the author or Hebrews uses the analogy of the changing of a garment in comparison to the heavens. Do you have a favorite pair of jeans? A favorite baseball cap? Don't you just wish the fabric fibers would just hang-on for a little longer? I have jeans and running clothes that I have had for years -that should probably be thrown away a while ago (this is not an excuse for you to tell me to get rid of them--haha, "Perfect timing to tell Joni she really does need to get rid of those jeans!) Now, the passage says that the heavens are like garments that become worn-out. Archaeologists could testify that this world is pretty old and there are some things on this earth that have been around forever! My mind immediately goes to those big, beautiful redwood trees in California. I LOVE pictures of these trees: they're massive and just tower over people. These trees have been around what seems like forever---but this passage says that they too, will wear-out.

Well gracious! What does that mean for those of us who struggle with change? Are we always going to have a furrowed-brow of fear or chronic crankiness because things are always changing? If you choose to focus on things that are constantly changing or will eventually change--yes but if you choose to focus on the one thing that remains, your brow can relax a little. I am not belittling your fears of change, in fact, if anyone understands the fears that come with change, it's me! But we can take a passage like this one and meditate on it; accepting the message and react by praising God for NOT changing! Praise God that he has had the salvation of man in His plan since the beginning of time. It was not a surprise to him when man fell into sin. I find so much comfort in that! I could be stripped of everything like Job and still have all that I need in Christ clinging to his constant presence. So don't panic-- it's ok if your garments wear out, if your route changes on your way to work, even if friendships come and go--continue to keep your focus on the one who will remain!

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