Christ has died and
Christ has risen.
Christ will come again.
I once heard that a people group in Ecuador define peace as
the heart sitting down, and that is just what happens in my soul when I sing
those gospel words to myself while I’m blowdrying my hair or fixing dinner or
loading children in car seats. All the worries darting through my mind, all the
weight of my sin, all the burdens of motherhood and ministry fall right off in
light of these truths. My heart sits down, at peace.
That chorus resonates with such certainty that, no matter
what, my sin has been removed, death has lost its sting, my struggles and life
circumstances will be redeemed. There is hope always because this Person at the core of the gospel, Christ, is
unchanging. Because of this, these truths about Him are everlasting. I can put all my weight on Him.
Christ has died and
Christ has risen.
Christ will come again.
This has so much to do with my everyday life as a disciple,
a wife, a mother, and a minister of the gospel because, really, the only sure
circumstance I know is change. Any fear or worry I have stems from knowing that
life can look drastically different from one day to the next. I am frail and
unknowing; I cannot predict or control tomorrow. My attempts to resist change
or even to get a firm grasp on today are like trying to cup the wind in my
hands.
Summer turns to fall.
Little boys grow up.
Day gives way to night.
Gray hair appears.
Jobs change.
Relationships shift.
God gives and takes away.
Nothing goes untouched by change.
Sometimes we believe that security comes in change—a new house,
a different job, a change in marital status—and sometimes we believe security
comes in hiding from or running from change. But security only comes in the
Unchangeable, even as life constantly changes around us.
He is the only sure thing, even more certain than the sun
rising and the seasons changing, even more certain than the most secure relationships,
even more certain than life and death. When we realize this, we can let go of
our death grip on life, stop fearing the future, and enjoy the adventure of
life because we are hidden safely in the Unchangeable.
Peace is there.
Marriage? God is forever faithful.
Children? God is forever faithful.
The church? God is forever faithful.
Vocation? God is forever faithful.
Tragedy? God is forever faithful.
Disability? God is forever faithful.
Culture? God is forever faithful.
Friendship? God is forever faithful.
He is unchanging.
May our hearts sit down.
