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Opinion
My congregation just celebrated its 15th anniversary. While the roots of Mountain Valley Lutheran Church go back much further than that, it was in 1996 that the congregation received its first full-time resident pastor and weekly worship services began. Since I was that first full-time resident pastor, this anniversary has been a time not just for my church, but for my family and I to look back over the past decade-and-a-half.
So much has changed. When we first arrived in Eagle, the population was less than half of what it is today. Eagle Ranch was just that — a working cattle ranch. There was one elementary school in Eagle, one in Gypsum, and one middle school shared by the two communities. My kids were preschoolers. My congregation consisted of 20-some souls.
Since then, the population of our end of the valley has exploded. Houses and neighborhoods have been built. My kids are young adults. My congregation constructed a wonderful facility and currently numbers about 150 souls. Looking back at some of the photos that were assembled for our anniversary celebration reminds me that I've changed, too, going from a pastor in his early 30s who looked like he just graduated from high school to a more “seasoned” looking veteran who is pushing the big 5-0 (how'd that happen?).
In the scheme of things, 15 years is a drop in the ocean. The previous congregation I served was founded during the Civil War! Yet it's amazing, sobering, even shocking to realize how much has changed in that short period of time. But even as I reflect on how much has changed since my family and I arrived in Eagle, I am also reminded of what has not changed.
So what's the same in 2011 as it was in 1996? Well, for one thing, people are still basically the same as they've been for thousands upon thousands of years. They are still imperfect, flawed, hurting creatures who desperately need to have their relationship with their Creator restored. But thankfully, our Lord is still the same. He's still the holy God who does not shift and bend and change with the wind. He still demands perfection. But he is also still the loving, merciful Savior who forgives us and declares us imperfect creatures to be his holy, dearly-loved children. I'm reminded of what the writer to the Hebrews penned: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
And not only has our God not changed, but his word hasn't changed, either. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35). His law remains the unchanging standard for all human conduct. His gospel contains the same amazing, life-giving promises. Ageless and unchanging; constant and unmovable — that's our God and his word.
“The more things change, the more they remain the same.” How true that old axiom is. Even as we are reminded of how changing our world (and the little corner of it that we live in) is, may we find comfort, strength, purpose, promise, guidance and joy in our unchanging Lord and his unchanging word.
So much has changed. When we first arrived in Eagle, the population was less than half of what it is today. Eagle Ranch was just that — a working cattle ranch. There was one elementary school in Eagle, one in Gypsum, and one middle school shared by the two communities. My kids were preschoolers. My congregation consisted of 20-some souls.
Since then, the population of our end of the valley has exploded. Houses and neighborhoods have been built. My kids are young adults. My congregation constructed a wonderful facility and currently numbers about 150 souls. Looking back at some of the photos that were assembled for our anniversary celebration reminds me that I've changed, too, going from a pastor in his early 30s who looked like he just graduated from high school to a more “seasoned” looking veteran who is pushing the big 5-0 (how'd that happen?).
In the scheme of things, 15 years is a drop in the ocean. The previous congregation I served was founded during the Civil War! Yet it's amazing, sobering, even shocking to realize how much has changed in that short period of time. But even as I reflect on how much has changed since my family and I arrived in Eagle, I am also reminded of what has not changed.
So what's the same in 2011 as it was in 1996? Well, for one thing, people are still basically the same as they've been for thousands upon thousands of years. They are still imperfect, flawed, hurting creatures who desperately need to have their relationship with their Creator restored. But thankfully, our Lord is still the same. He's still the holy God who does not shift and bend and change with the wind. He still demands perfection. But he is also still the loving, merciful Savior who forgives us and declares us imperfect creatures to be his holy, dearly-loved children. I'm reminded of what the writer to the Hebrews penned: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
And not only has our God not changed, but his word hasn't changed, either. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35). His law remains the unchanging standard for all human conduct. His gospel contains the same amazing, life-giving promises. Ageless and unchanging; constant and unmovable — that's our God and his word.
“The more things change, the more they remain the same.” How true that old axiom is. Even as we are reminded of how changing our world (and the little corner of it that we live in) is, may we find comfort, strength, purpose, promise, guidance and joy in our unchanging Lord and his unchanging word.
