Forever the Same
“You remain the same.”
Hebrews 1:12 (NIV)
Last Friday morning I ran into the grocery store to grab a loaf of bread and suddenly stopped just inside the sliding glass doors. There in front of me was a large Easter display complete with chocolate bunnies, peeps, and colorful stuffed animals. James Bruce would have loved it and probably said, “Mama! Mama! I like this one!” And I would have bought a stuffed rabbit or chick just to get out of Publix.
“This is going to be a very different Easter,” I thought as my eyes brimmed.
James Bruce loved all things Easter: the stuffed animals; chocolate bunnies; our traditional family meal complete with Mimi punch; and a new spring shirt for church. But most of all, James Bruce loved his Easter music. Much like our Advent preparations, Bruce and James Bruce had a nightly YouTube sing along with James Bruce’s favorite Easter songs that included Sandi Patty's I've Just Seen Jesus; Glad's Easter Song; and the Gaither's Because He Lives. Our Easter singalong also usually also included hymns that I had grown up with: Jesus Paid It All; The Old Rugged Cross; and Nothing but the Blood of Jesus.
Music was James Bruce’s love language. It was the one area where he excelled. I affectionately labeled the week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday as “The Sounds of Easter.” And every Easter Sunday morning as we pulled out of our driveway on our way to church, James Bruce would excitedly proclaim, “He is risen; He is risen indeed!” His words would be joyously repeated throughout the day. By God’s grace, James Bruce knew what the cross means.
This weekend as I contemplated a very different personal Easter, I’ve been reminded of truths gleaned from Paige Brown’s Bible History course last year. Turn the page from Deuteronomy to Joshua, and you’ll find that Israel was in the middle of her own seismic life changes. Following the miraculous exodus from Egypt and forty years of wandering in the wilderness, Israel had a:
Different leader – Moses is dead. Joshua now leads.
Different congregation – A new generation is no longer wandering, but settling in the Promised Land
Different symbol – The arc of the covenant replaces the pillar and cloud of God’s presence.
Different water – Israel is crossing the Jordan River, not the Red Sea.
Different theophany – Moses’ burning bush is replaced with the Joshua’s Captain of the Lord’s army.
Israel had five huge differences, but one important constant. God Himself is the same. What was true for Israel is true for us as well.
Our Evans family’s seismic life changes over the last three months have included three unexpected and significant job changes for family members; a cross-country move from New York to Birmingham; and James Bruce’s sudden death. Yet God is still the same. His sameness brings great comfort and stability in the midst of our life and death chaos.
All of us have different life circumstances that we could insert in answer to the question, “What is different from last year?” The Covid pandemic, job changes, relationships, health, financial setbacks, loss of loved ones, and the Ukrainian-Russia war are just a few of the possibilities, but our God remains the same.
Paige Brown wisely counsels us, “Fix your eyes on what you do know. Draw strength on the sameness of God in the midst of all the chaos of change. Only when we understand the sameness of God will we not remain the same.”
God is forever the same. “He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) And that means the message of Easter hasn’t changed either, no matter how much my circumstances have.
He is risen; He is risen indeed is still the good news of Easter. And because Christ lives, we can too!