Changes, yet remains the same
FEBRUARY 13, 2008 (WEDNESDAY)
The Astros are getting ready for a new season, with only a few players from last year. Trades, etc. are creating a new team with different names. The team will have a new look this year.
Little by little, everything changes, doesn’t it? Organizations like sports teams, groups like civic clubs, workplaces of all kinds, churches, you name it, it will change over time. New faces will be seen.
There is, however, a continuity in all of this. From one day to the next, there seems to be little or no change, but across the years, the changes become very visible. This happens in families, the workplace, in schools, churches, clubs, etc. The organizations remain very much the same, even with new people taking the place of the old ones. Take for example, a football team. Since the uniforms identify the teams, it’s easy to forget the changes in the lineup of players. Seinfeld put it this way: “Players change every year. Fans basically cheer for laundry.”
The team looks the same every year, but it isn’t. Some players leave and some new ones take their place. This is the way the church works. The congregation changes. The locations change. The buldings change. The ministers change. It is, however, still the same church. It is the church worldwide — true believers everywhere — that prevails for Christ year in and year out. When Jesus promised victory to what he called, “My Church,” he was talking about people who would be known for the love of their Savior. There is an unbroken line of believers in Christ from the First Century to the Twenty-first. The faces change, but the church still belongs to Christ, is dedicated to Him and His purposes, and will always be victorious. The body of Christ has new members today, but it is still the same body of Christ, the body He created, helps to grow, and sustains.