But with all the change we can end up becoming accustom to things being temporary. This is dangerous if such an attitude carries over to our view of Christ and the Church. Jesus is the same yesterday today and forever (Heb 13:8). Or, in another place it says, "But you [O Lord] remain the same, and your years will never end." (Psalm 102:27). How often in Scripture is the ways of this world contrasted with those of our Lord? The world is dark, our Lord is light. The world is false, our Lord is true. The world is corrupt, our Lord is holy. The world is passing away, our Lord endures forever. The world changes, our Lord does not.
Paul gets at this with Timothy. In 2 Timothy 4:6-7 he says, "For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." Notice he says "THE good fight", "THE race", and "THE faith". The point is that there is one fight, one race and one faith (Eph. 4:5-6). Let's not get confused as some are today. There are not different purposes for different people in the Church at different points in time. Each of us have the same faith, race, and fight before us that Paul had. Paul was exhorting Timothy to carry on the same fight, run the same race, and retain the same faith as Paul did. And although we live in a world that looks far different in technology than Paul's day, it is a world that looks exactly the same morally and spiritually. Our race, our fight, and our faith pertain to these and therefore don't change. Our Lord and His Gospel do not change an therefore neither do we as the Church. Question: If Paul came and followed you around for a time would he say your race, fight, and faith are the same as his?
It is a comfort to be able to settle on an immutable foundation in our Lord. No matter what comes and what goes, He is always.
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