Unchanging

Friday February 20, 2015

How badly would someone have to betray oyu before you turned your back on that person forever? What if he told you that he loved you, would even die for you, but shortly thereafter adamantly denied that he even knew you? I´m guessing you´d turn your back on that person, or at least give him the cold shoulder for a few months.

Such is the situation in John 21. Peter had failed Jesus by denying him three times, even calling down curses upon himself in the process. Later, Peter went right back to what he had been doing before he met Jesus - fishing (v.3). This is a good example of how we inevitably revert to the pursuits and interests we held before we met Jesus when we begin to feel distant from Him.

But who did Peter jump in the water to see on the shore? Jesus! (v.7). Despite His disciple´s earlier denial, Jesus had not abandoned him. In fact, He basically re-enacted what occurred at the start of their relationship, the time when He had revealed His divine power and called Peter to the life of a disciple (Luke 5:1-11).

These accounts are a wonderful reminder of one aspect of God that I´m so prone to forget - His unchanging nature. I often think that when I fail, God turns away from me - angered and ashamed by my actions. I imagine that He loves me a little bit less as a result of my behaviour.

But Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." And in James 1:17 we read that God doesn´t change like "a shifting shadow." Our failures, as dark as they might be, aren´t bad enough for God to deny us or give up on us. He stands by the shore of our lives, calling us to repentance and renewed fellowship. His ways are unchanging! - Peter Chin

Read
John 21:1-14
Afterwards Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way : Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. "I´m going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We´ll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
he called out to them, "Friends, haven´t you any fish?"
"No," they answered.
He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught."
Simon Peter climbed abroad and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Luke 15:11-32
Jesus continued : "There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.
Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father´s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' So he got up and went to his father.
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you- I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his fingers and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let´s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.
Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'
The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I´ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'
'My son,' the father said, 'You are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is live again; he was lost and is found.' "

Question to Ponder
After making a mistake or experiencing a failure of some kind, do you ever feel that God loves you less?
What does it mean for you to know that God is unchanging?

** Article taken from ODJ (Our Daily Journey with God) Dec 2014 - Feb 2015 issue