Timeless love

My mom is the greatest. The day before my wedding she gave me a wonderful gift. It was a picture of my grandfather (her dad) holding me up and praying over me at my baby dedication ceremony. That picture is meaningful to me for so many reasons (among them: my grandpa also performed my wedding), but something else now comes to mind about it. It wasn’t just the reminder of how significant a role my grandfather has always played in my life; it was something I noticed in the background of the photo: Hebrews 13:8.
See, I grew up in Foursquare churches. If you’ve spent any time in one, you’ll notice something they all have in common: displayed on at least one wall will be, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” Oh, how that verse has followed, comforted, and, in some ways, haunted me my whole life. The really sad thing is that, all too often, that truth- that healing, saving, bedrock statement faded into the background of my life . . . just barely noticeable, just as it is almost hidden by the frame of the picture my mom gave me.
So now I ask, “What does Heb. 13:8 mean to me today?”
It means that Jesus was and is perfect. Reading about his childhood, we discover that when he was twelve, separated from his family, and eventually found by them speaking in the temple with the religious teachers, Jesus amazed those around him. He was already introducing himself as pure wisdom, light, and, most of all, love. “So Jesus grew in both height and wisdom, and he was loved by God and by all who knew him.” (Emphasis mine)(Luke 2:52)(NLT)
Today in our crazy, broken, live-for-the-moment world Jesus remains the same. He’ll never leave us. James 1:17-18 reads, “Whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God above who created all heaven’s lights. Unlike them, he never changes or casts shifting shadows. In his goodness he chose to make us his own children by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his choice possession.”
Let’s not be led astray by ‘strange new ideas’. In our hope for tomorrow let’s focus on the truth. The one who was and is and is to come: Jesus. He alone holds our future. “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross . . . Think about all he endured when sinful people did such terrible things to him, so that you don’t become weary and give up.” Heb. 12:2-3
Please read the following statements, either aloud or silently, placing the words from Heb. 13:8 at the end of each:

- So when new problems come along, or when old pain resurfaces, turn to him because . . .

- And when hope is fading & all seems lost, rely on him because . . .

- If you have a loved one who’s lost, or you yourself need a renewal in your spirit, ask him because . . .

Finally, one thing we can do, confident in our salvation and his love for us, knowing we have eternal life & hope in him by his grace, we come to his throne seeking boldly because his love never fails and because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Amen.