All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field . . . the grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
People often quip that if it were not for mirrors and daily aches and pains, twin reminders of the indelible march of time, most of us who are middle-aged (and older) might actually be convinced of what we generally think in our minds—that we are still 25. It seems that as more time passes, the rate at which time passes increases. Things change more rapidly, with no end in sight. We know that everything we see changes, and that one thing we can never buy back is the time we have already spent. It is gone forever. Old times really aren’t. The only kind of time that truly exists is new time. Everything changes. Yet the writer of Hebrews reminds us of the unchanging nature of the Son of God. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever,” he writes in 13:8. James refers to God as “the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (1:17). In Malachi, the LORD himself says of himself, “For I the LORD do not change” (3:6). Theologians will often describe God as “immutable”—this refers to the biblical truth that God does not change, and that he is perfectly faithful to his promises and his will. It is a comfort to know that in a world and a life where everything is subject to change, there is a God who is always exactly who he is. He never changes, nor do his will or his promises or his word.
–Ricky