Consistent and Persistent

The Word is first...

Hebrews 13:8 (NIV)

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984

My daily prayer is to be different today. Specifically, I pray to be closer to the image of Christ today than yesterday. I also pray that tomorrow I will be closer than today. In that way, I acknowledge who I was, who I am and who I want to be. The truth of the matter is that I am a work in progress, in a transient state and in a sense inconsistent. Of course, it is wonderful not to be consistent in the state I was in yesterday, the old me! I praise God for taking me out of that life, giving me a new life and a model, in His Son, that I am to emulate.

One of the many beautiful things about Jesus is reflected in today's study verse; he is unchanging. Not only has he existed since the beginning, he exists today and he will continue to exist forever. He is persistent in his existence. More than that though is that his character is consistent. As Scripture tells us "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." There are two points for me to ponder in these ten words.

First, is this tense of this passage; it is present tense. It does not say that Jesus Christ was the same yesterday as he is today. Nor does it say that he will be the same tomorrow. It says that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and tomorrow." This gives me a sense of the eternal presence or persistence of Christ in that he exists outside of time as we know it. The tense paints a vivid picture for me of the fact that God, Jesus and The Spirit exist in my three known tenses (past, present & future) simultaneously. Whether this reveals an understanding of how time really 'works' is of no consequence to me. I pass through time in a linear fashion in that I was yesterday and am no longer. I am today and shall soon be no longer and prayerfully I will be tomorrow, God willing. The Holy Trinity by way of contrast just is and this of course reminds me that God identified himself to Moses as I AM. Jesus Christ is persistent across all time.

The second point that fascinates me is that this verse celebrates the immutability of Christ. He is neither prone to nor susceptible to change. Hallelu Yah! As He is in the beginning so too is He now. As He is now, so too is He tomorrow. He does not change in any fashion. The attributes and characteristics inherent to Him never diminish or expire. There is no room for improvement nor fear of vascillation for he is perfect. He never wavers, changes his mind or regrets for he is consistent. This is in stark contrast to mortal man, to me.

I am as grass in the field, here today but gone tomorrow. I am as a reed blowing in the wind, back and forth, to and fro and I am just as likely to change my mind moment to moment as the sun is to shine. Whereas Christ is perfect, my greatest characteristic is that there is room for change, lot's and lot's of room for change. Hallelu Yah! Whereas Christ is complete I am a work in progress and as I move ever closer towards the image of Christ I am improved. Hallelu Yah! Whereas Christ is fully mature, I am but a baby; immature and full of potential.

It is important for me to have something solid in my life, something that I can depend on, something upon which to build my house. Praise God that Jesus Christ is that something for me. In fact, he is my everything. He is.

Not Yet Done,
Carl