Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews 13:7-8)
If we were somehow able to travel back in time to when our grandparents (or even our parents) were the age we are now, so that we could take a look at their way of life, we would notice a lot about their way of life that is different from our way of life today. If we were somehow able to travel forward in time to when our grandchildren (or even our children) will be the age that we are now, so that we could take a look at their way of life, we would likely notice a lot about their way of life in the future that is different from our way of life today. Much has changed and much will change. It was the Greek philosopher Heraclitus who came up with the idea that, "Nothing endures but change." Sometimes we translate his quote as, "the only constant in life is change." The Christian recognizes that there is an exception to this rule. The Christian realizes that there is one constant in life that does not change. That constant is Jesus Christ. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Everything about Jesus Christ is constant, and Jesus is our constant because he constantly loves us - as he has loved our leaders from the past and will love the next generations. And Jesus is constantly with us - as he was with our leaders from the past and how he will be with the next generations.
One other thing has not changed - the most common denominator between people of all ages is the sinful nature that we all inherit from our most distant relatives, Adam & Eve. The good news is that the universal Good News that takes care of that sin also has not changed and will not change. What Jesus means to people and what he does for them has not changed and will not change. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." A fitting slogan for Jesus could be: Jesus Christ - continuing to meet people's greatest need exactly the same way since 3,000 B.C. (or whenever Adam and Eve took the forbidden bites).
School is back in session. For those of us who have children, or grandchildren, or nieces/nephews in Christian Day School or Sunday School, isn't it comforting to know that the Jesus they are learning about is the same Jesus that loves us and that is with us - that very same Jesus who was with and loved those leaders who came before us? Jesus' love for the sinner doesn't weaken over time - he loves us just as much now, as he did when out of love he stayed on the cross to make the final installment in the paying off of the debt of sin. "For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." (Psalm 100:5) Jesus is with us "today" just as much us as he will be with those from the next generation tomorrow and "forever," and Jesus isn't with us "today" any less than he was with those who came before us "yesterday." Jesus promised to his disciples of "yesterday" that he would continue to be with them. That same promise applies to us "today," and will continue to apply for believers like us, right up until the end of time. "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:20)
When we "consider the outcome of [the] way of life [of our] leaders, who spoke the word of God to [us,]" we will realize that there really only are two outcomes - heaven or hell. If these leaders remained "faithful, even to the point of death, [and God gave them] the crown of life," (Revelation 2:10), then their way of life - their way to eternal life - is worth considering and imitating. When we consider their way of life, we realize that they are now in heaven for the very same reason that we can be sure that we will one day be in heaven - the unchanging Jesus. One way we can imitate the faith of those "who spoke the word of God to [us]", is to speak the word of God to others - to become leaders who speak the word of God to others. School is indeed back in session, but that doesn't mean we should leave all the teaching up to the teachers. We, as parents, grandparents and aunts/uncles should be speaking the word of God to the next generation. The definition of heritage is: "Something that is passed down from preceding generations." Unfortunately one thing that we all inherit and are passed down from the preceding generation is a sinful nature "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." (Psalm 51:5) But, following the pattern of the leaders who spoke the word of God to us, we are also able to pass down from our generation to the next the truth about sin and the truth about our unchanging Savior - we can, and should, "[speak] the word of God to [them]. God's word, and its central theme of Jesus, is our great heritage and we, like those from the generation past who spoke the word of God to us, have the privilege of speaking the word of God to the next generation. The heritage of God's Word and it's central character Jesus doesn't get old - it's always perfectly contemporary with every generation, because who Jesus is and what he means to us remains the same as who he was and what he meant to those who came before us, and who Jesus is and what he means to the believer will continue to remain exactly the same throughout all future generations.
"God's Word is our great heritage and shall be ours forever;
to spread its light from age to age shall be our chief endeavor.
Through life it guides our way; in death it is our stay.
Lord, grant while worlds endure, we keep its teachings pure,
throughout all generations." CW 293
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