My daughter and I recently started new jobs on the same day. So lately the dinner table conversation at our house has centred around our new experiences. Last night I had something funny to report. To teach me how to repair bent frames, my co-worker manipulated an old pair and put them on. The glasses she picked were very old ? the lenses covered a large portion of her face - and there was much laughter as the others in the office complimented her on her fashion statement. When I finished telling the story, my daughter grinned and said, "You mean they were really old, like Dad's?" I nodded my head in spite of my husband's protests. He just can't seem to understand why we don't think his glasses are the latest thing in chic.

Styles and fashions change quickly these days. What's "in" today may not be a month from now. The change from year to year is often drastic. Looking at photographs taken several years ago will make us burst into laughter. "Look at that hair!" "Look at that jacket!" "Did I really wear that shirt?!" Changes in fashion can be fun, though costly if you are intent on keeping up. Change in general, though, seems to be something we don't like. We prefer that things stay the same, especially those things in our lives that keep us grounded and feeling secure. We are quick to establish routines and work hard at maintaining them. We get to know someone and assume their character will stay the same. It isn't always so.

Life causes routines to shift and people will sometimes make dramatic changes that leave us at a loss, wondering why. But there are some things that will never change. In the fashion industry they're called ?classics? and most of us know what they are ? the simply cut black dress, for instance, that will never go out of style. There are also laws of physics and chemistry that we believe will always be there ? an apple falling from a tree will always reach the ground before a feather does, and it will decompose at a faster rate than a rock. We rely on these unchangeable rules in our world. We have faith in them daily.

There is another unchangeable reality on which we can rely. There is a God in whom we can invest our faith.

The writer of the book of Hebrews states it plainly ? "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). The Apostle James says, in God there is "no shadow of turning" (James 1:17, KJV). There isn't even a hint of change in God's character. He remains the same.

That's good news for us all. There will always be the unchanging rules and formulas God has built into our lives and obedience to them will always equal a close relationship with Him. There will always be the ?classics? to rely on ? God's love, mercy, patience, and grace.

Marcia Laycock is a pastor's wife and freelance writer living in Alberta Canada.  Her devotional book, The Spur of the Moment has been endorsed by Janette Oke, Phil Callaway and others.  To order, and to view more of Marcia's writing, see her web site - www.vinemarc.com
Copyright Marcia Lee Laycock, 2000, 2001,2002,2003,2004,2005