We are in a constant state of change, and so too is this world. Heraclitus recognised that as early as ~500BC when he famously said “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”
I remember when I was a teenager and used to use the library quite regularly borrowing two books one on photography and one on learning to drive, both of which were very relevant to where I was at in my life. Unfortunately both books were quite old. When I read them I discovered that the one on photography made no mention of 35mm cameras until the closing page where in a paragraph it dismissed these “new cameras” as something that, in the author’s opinion, would never catch on and could therefore be ignored. The book on learning to drive explained clearly how on driving round a roundabout, when about to leave it, you should honk your horn, extend your hand out of the window to signal your intention and then slowly proceed to exit the roundabout. How things change.
And that truthhas never been so self-evident as over the last 4 months or so. And now we come out into this “new normality” where so much has changed. No longer can we go on public transport or into shops without a face mask, we can go to church but we can’t sing hymns to God there, many have lost their jobs, others are now working at home, and those that still go out to work are required to take precautions that they never dreamt of at the start of this year. And two words – Coronavirus and COVID-19, never heard of before this year have become two of the most frequently used words in the media.
And with that, there is perhaps a tendency in all of us to think that anything associated with pre-lockdown is now out of date, irrelevant, or at the very least now needs revising.
And yet one thing remains that has not changed since the day it was first given. Parts of it have stood unchanged for some 4000 years, the newest nearly 2000 years. And that, of course, is the Word of God.
And this is the wonder of this book, since it is given by God, it is not only perfect in its original giving, but since He has absolute and perfect knowledge of all things, including all that is to come, it is perfect in addressing each and every generation from when it was first given until Christ returns in glory.
When Jesus (who is Himself God) was on earth this is what He said concerning the Bible:
Mat 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
Mat 5:18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
Friend, as you look around you in this new post-lockdown world, before you get overwhelmed with all that has changed, pick up your Bible, open it with confidence, and continue to build your life upon that which cannot change, for it is already perfect, without error, and sufficient for all you need in regard to what to believe and what to practise in this lifetime to please God, and thereby enter into His very presence.