Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace…
Hebrews 13:8-9
The last couple of years have been full of uncertainty and change and we have become adept at pivoting. This is quite wearying. Recently, our son and his wife moved away to a new place with new jobs, new church, new friends, new everything. My daughter-in-law told me how relieved she was that there was a Coles close by: ‘At least, it looks just the same as our old Coles and is familiar’.
Any chain store—with its branded look, its predictable shelving, its stable stock supply—works because we know what to expect when we enter its doors. We know where to look to find the familiar products that we love, to stock our fridge and cupboards with.
Our Lord Jesus is like this. He is unchanging. As God, he is entirely predictable and consistent. As is the message of saving grace that is found in knowing him. An unchanging Christ with an unchanging offer of mercy that strengthens our hearts.
We may wake up to news of a new strain of Covid, or that a Tsunami threatens our coastline, or some other eventful change, but we can rest in the truth that our God is unchanging. He remains unwavering; utterly and reliably consistent. By his grace we have been forgiven and welcomed into his family. And this will still be true tomorrow, and the day after, next week, next month…until forever.
I have written this prayer into my PrayerMate App to help me remember that our great God is unchanging. If you don’t use this App, why not write it on a card and put it beside your bed to pray each evening:
Be present, merciful God, and protect us through the hours of this night: that we, who are wearied by the changes and chances of this fleeting world, may rest on your eternal changelessness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
— An Australian Prayer Book, Third Collect of the evening
In the last few weeks, as I’ve chatted with a number of women, I’ve seen how adept they are at juggling and pivoting. But we have many balls to juggle in life. Our plans go awry, and those balls just start tumbling. And this is when we feel the weariness and stress and think, ‘I can’t keep doing this.’
The question for us as pastoral carers is whether Jesus saw any other significance in laying down his life for the sheep. And consequently, is there a type of sacrifice which Jesus calls his followers in pastoral care to make?
The God of all grace is not remote and he doesn’t simply delegate to others. He is willing, so to speak, to get his hands dirty.
This was a moment of grace, during an ordinary routine, given to me by our creator God. Pumpkins had given me a new song to sing.
The Mental Health & Pastoral Care Institute is a part of Mary Andrews College, an Anglican Deaconess Ministry.
© 2023 Mary Andrews College | Privacy | Terms | Web Design by lcdc.co
