I can’t keep up with it all: MP3s, JPEGs, and Memory sticks. Do you remember vinyl records? You know those big, round things that look like black CDs? Oh, that’s right CDs are now DVDs or are they, Blue Ray? The conversation goes on: Beta, VHS, cassettes, and Eight Track. Paper tape became punch cards, the magnetic tape drives, hard drives, floppy drives, and the cloud. It seems the one constant is change!
The other day I was pulling into our parking lot, and I noticed Epiphras riding up Route 12 on his donkey. Frankly, I thought he looked pretty good for a two-thousand-year-old man. He waved at me, and I rolled down the window. “I’m looking for the Church,” he said.
“Well, you’re in luck,” I told him. With a sweeping gesture, I pointed to the building and said, “That’s the church over there.”
“But that’s a building,” he said.
“Oh, of course,” I blushed, “that’s the church BUILDING. It’s where the Church meets. Would you like to come in?”
“Yes, thank you. It’s been a long ride from Colossae.”
We walked in, and I showed Epaphras our facility. “What are those?” he asked.
“That’s the pulpit, and that’s where we sit during services. You know, when the communion trays are passed.”
“The what?”
“You know the communion trays.”
He looked at me with a blank stare, so I changed the subject. “We’re pretty modern here. I’m sure there have been a lot of changes in the last two millennia. Why we even use PowerPoint slides for our song service!”
Another blank look.
“Perhaps you would like to walk over to my office and have a soda. I’ll just put your donkey in the side yard.”
Poor Epiphras looked so bewildered until we sat down in my study. I took out a directory, and we began to talk about the members. Epiphras revived. His face lit up as we shared stories about the people and how the Gospel changed their lives. That’s when we discovered some things never change! It’s always been and always will be about the people and God’s unchanging love.