Part One - Change is the only constant in life

We have all heard a variation on this statement by Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, who I would like to think was Hercules’ smarter brother. As we listen to this statement, consider it, repeat it, we roll our eyes especially as we personally face the latest version of change.

Just when we think that we have seen it all, something different takes place, or at least there is a new twist in a resurfacing issue that the world has faced already. We must admit that there is truth in this statement. The Greek philosophers were not dummies. But there is a subtle lie also hidden in the statement, or perhaps I should say, in what is usually inferred in the repeating of the statement.

Normally when we say, “change is the only constant,” we are bemoaning the fact that we are a victim of circumstances, tossed around like a leaf on a blustery day, and at the mercy of what is going on around us. This is true when we look at things from an earthly perspective, if we are trying to live life, even do ministry, in a natural way. But what does God have to say about this? What do we need to learn from Him that will not just be a platitude but be able to be applied to our lives through God-given faith in times of change? 

Ecclesiastes 3:1 reminds us “For everything there is a season.” then, most of us jump to thinking about the grocery list of ‘human matters’ that follow. We might think this is where we begin to look for depth of meaning in the altercations of life. We might be surprised though because this is also where our search for an answer ends. Once again it was something subtle, not deeply academic or hidden, just something subtle in the wording of this verse that transforms our perspective and redefines life not as randomly chaotic, but systematically purposeful.  Let us read the verse again – only the whole thing this time.