God Doesn't Change

People change, but God doesn't.  This is one of the many aspects of God which is completely contrary to our experience on earth.  He says in Malachi 3:6, "For I am the LORD, I change not..."  The world changes with the advance of technology; philosophy, society, and economics change; the climate is constantly in a state of flux; even our bodies are always changing.  Our thoughts change from one moment to the next, but God does not change.  His righteous Laws do not "change with the times," for He has created time and it is subservient to His everlasting rule.  He created this world, and someday He will end it.

During my lifetime, I have witnessed many changes.  I have seen portable music devices go from oversized boom-boxes lugged on the shoulder to Walkman cassette players with headphones to portable CD players and MP3 players with ear buds to a phone that is a computer, camera, work and game station which oh yeah - also plays digital music downloaded from the internet without wires or cables and is stored in your pocket!  With the advance of capitalism has come a massive increase in technology, increase of schools and universities, and convenience stores.  Walk through a shop today and the range of products is staggering, and everywhere we are faced with choices.  And with our freedoms and affluence, our foray into personal entitlement demands we "have it our way."  As our independence grows so does our pride.  It was not long ago that certain things were certainly right and wrong, but the poison of subjective truth has seeped into the very souls that comprise society - if a man has a soul at all.  God has become unnecessary, and even to speak of Him is an ill omen.  God, the Bible, the account of creation, and the person of Jesus Christ have been reduced to a grab-bag where people justify themselves to pick and choose what we want to believe - if we believe at all.

God has always given people the right to choose if we will believe Him or not.  Remember, He doesn't change.  He created man from the dust of the ground and breathed into Him a living soul.  He created a mate for Him by removing a rib and fashioning a woman, for she was taken out of man.  God established distinct sexes designed to provide companionship, procreate within marriage, a picture of the relationship He desires to have with man, one spurned on by His active, unfailing love.  Because of sin, it was not long before the institution God made was under attack, with men divorcing their wives because of the hardness of their hearts.  A ploy of Satan was to make Eve question the validity of God's Word, and he uses the same tactic masterfully to this day.  When I was growing up, the Bible that gave unheard of protection and provision for women was blamed for their oppression.  The God-ordained roles in the marriage relationship were questioned.  The existence of sexual sin or illicit relationships was also questioned.  Now it has come to a point where a genetically born man is free to choose if he is really a man or a woman.  It has become all about us, and the phrase from the satanic bible "Do what thou wilt" has traction like never before.  With the erosion of the fear of God has come great confusion.  1 Corinthians 14:33 says, "For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints." The word "confusion" in the Greek is defined as "instability, disorder, confusion."  God is a God of order and He does not change.  Sin has entered this world and death through sin.  Satan opposes God and fights against Him, seeking to subvert his truth.  Because we live in a day where men do not measure truth against God's unchanging Word and character, applauding whatever his heart believes is right, we add confusion to our guilt before God.

Today I was driving and caught something out of the corner of my eye.  Near my house, several pairs of ducks can often be seen together:  a male and his female.  The heavens declare the glory of God, and nature itself speaks of order.  I smiled to myself as I thought about the wisdom of God.  There are very intelligent people who believe humans are descendants of sludge and there is no God.  But there by the road, in a very quiet and lovely manner, those two ducks waddled along together.  It spoke volumes to me:  no matter what changes occur in society, no matter how far we stray from the truth of the scriptures, at least the ducks will keep being ducks.  God created them to reproduce after their own kind.  They will keep being male and female, and ducks will remain monogamous life-long partners long after the biblical definition of marriage is cast aside by humans, a testimony of God's plan and design.  Ducks did not learn this "behaviour" from their parents or from their religious beliefs, but because God placed in them instincts to obey His rule.  Is not the wisdom of God past finding out?  God gave man the freedom to choose, and sadly most men choose to go their own way - and to their ultimate destruction.  I guess you either believe this, or you don't.

Consider the objective wisdom offered in James 3:13-18:  "Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. ¹⁵ This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. ¹⁶ For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. ¹⁷ But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. ¹⁸ Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace."  I am called by God to be righteous, and I am a great sinner.  God has provided a way for me to become righteous through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.  The Bible says when we do this, our sins are washed away and we are clothed in Christ's righteousness.  He is for us Wisdom (1 Cor. 1:30) and we are called to judge with righteous judgment.  This does not mean to be judgmental of others, but to choose to agree to God's perfect judgments demonstrated by living accordingly.  God's wisdom is the wisdom from above.  Through Christ we can have peace with God, though we live in a fallen and confused world under the sway of Satan.

Let us show by good conduct - according to God's standards - that we walk in the meekness of wisdom.  Does God need us to become defensive and furious against all who deny Him?  No.  Christ is our Peace, and let us sow the good seed of His Word in faith knowing it will not return to Him void.  When we see attacks upon God's definition of marriage or Christians standing up for their beliefs, let us recall 2 Timothy 3:12-17 to mind:  "Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. ¹³ But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴ But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, ¹⁵ and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."