Everything Changes
Amazing how quickly things can change. One minute you think one thing, the next the world is upside down. And I'm not talking about a pandemic. I'm talking about football. For those in my congregation, I hope you appreciate that my love of sports metaphors hasn't changed even when there are no sports.I am a college football fan. I grew up loving the Oregon Ducks and have never really had professional teams I like. I just root for teams where former Ducks play. It's been a good working system. Until now.You see, though I didn't have favorite NFL teams, I did have some I couldn't stand. Usually, because I had friends who were such die-hard fans, it drove me crazy. The example of the day is the Los Angeles Oakland Las Vegas Raiders. They were just an easy team to hate. (My apologies to all my friends, family, and congregation members who are a part of Raider nation.)But as of yesterday, I have a problem. If there is a Mount Rushmore of Oregon Athletics, it would hold the faces of people like Sabrina Ionescu, Bobby Moore, Dan Fouts, Joey Harrington, Ashton Eaton, and likely in the place of honor, Marcus Mariota...who is now a member of the Raiders. The question is which emotional connection, which loyalty will win out?I can answer that easily with a photograph:
On my wife's birthday, many years ago, when Marcus was a freshman, he stopped to take this picture with us. He engaged us in conversation. He cared that we held him in high regard. Over the next few years, as his career grew, all evidence pointed to him remaining not only a great athlete but a tremendous human being. I remember the radio broadcast of his last game, Jerry Allen nearly in tears describing the man Marcus had been in his time at Oregon.Times change, and now I will root for the Raiders because of my respect for their (likely) back-up quarterback.Now to today, things are changing fast. I feel like every check of the news has a new portion of life that has changed because of COVID-19. Things I don't really like. Things I want to go back to the way they were. The question for me as a disciple of Jesus is how do I respond?I'm going to become a fan of the Raiders. I will learn to appreciate the extra time at home with my family. I will learn to take joy in recording sermons for church and having to learn a whole new way to serve people. I will learn to live in this world we are in today because I trust the one who holds it in his hand. As much as I know I will always root for Marcus because he remained the same man, I will love this time we are living in because I know my God remains the same.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.Hebrews 13:8“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed."Malachi 3:6The Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.Jeremiah 31:3The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.Psalm 33:11
God is shaking and shaping his church right now. Because I know He is the God who never changes, I know He is still at work redeeming men and women to himself. We have an opportunity to grasp the fullness of what "church" means in a way we never would have had to under normal circumstances. And so I rejoice in the midst of the mourning. There will be loss, pain, and inconvenience, and yet we know God is still good, and God still sits on his throne.