Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. – Hebrews 13:8
A friend and I were recently discussing how words have changed over time. She works in a senior memory care facility and she told me the employees there are encouraged to use words the patients will remember from their own generation. Their goal is effective communication, not necessarily proper language usage.
We got to talking about how over the last several decades, a “sofa” has been known as a couch, love seat, and davenport. And a “cell” used to be a room in a jail, but now it usually refers to a mobile phone. If the employees at her work are not careful, the older generation may be confused as to why there is no davenport at the facility, or why having a cell is a good thing!
As I become older, I have had some firsthand experience in misunderstanding. Word usage in the teenage world is constantly changing, and I often find myself asking young people, “What do you mean when you say that?” To me, the terms they use may not be complementary, but I have found they view them quite differently.
Today’s key verse promises that Jesus Christ has never changed and never will. He is the same from everlasting to everlasting. Our words evolve because of the changing times or because new technologies or inventions come on the scene, but God’s Word is not that way. The Gospel is the same today as it was the day I was saved, and it will be the same for all future generations. Jesus died for the sinner, rose from the grave, and is coming back for His Bride. God’s power to save and deliver has not diminished or been altered in any way, and the same God who answered prayer in the Bible times can do the same for us now if we will call on His name.
The older we get and the more changes we see around us, the more we can appreciate that we do not need to worry about the Gospel ever changing. The God who spoke the world into existence promised, “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away” (Luke 21:33). Man’s words will continue to evolve, but God and His Word will remain unchanged for eternity.