I was quite conscientious as a preacher about staying “up-to-date” as I presented classes and sermons. Little is more ignorant than a preacher claiming to know when he does not have a clue.
Around 1990 much was said about available information doubling by 2000. My reaction: “No way! That must be a mistake! I cannot keep up now!” I was drowning in information! All I learned was how little I knew! The more information I grasped, the more my ignorance exploded!
In my youth, a good mule promptly responded to voice commands, a jersey milk cow supplied us with lots of cream, the new inventions of gravity-flowed cold water and kerosene stoves served us, telephones had “party lines,” families had one car, school had research books and slide rules, and teachers lectured as the “authorities.”
I still struggle with computers. My use of a cell phone is laughable. “Texting” is non-existent. Birds twitter. No wonder I surrendered to the world of “change” by the year 2000—remember how the millennium might bring everything to a standstill? (Yes, I filled my bathtubs with water before I went to a New Year’s Eve party!)
Laugh at me if you wish (I frequently laugh at me), but do you have any idea of how much your life will change by 2025?
The one thing that will never change is the Gospel story. God is the origin of life. We messed up everything. God sent Jesus to undo the mess we made. By resurrection, Jesus became our Savior. If we place our trust in what God does for us through Jesus, two things happen: (1) We change the way we live and who we are. (2) God has us covered even though we still make messes—He calls it forgiveness.
Is that a matter of faith? Yes! It always will be! Yet, Jesus is the Christ, and that never changes! No matter what is said or done, Jesus remains the changeless one! A Christ-less Christianity is not possible! Without Jesus Christ, there is no Christianity!
David Chadwell
Link to other Writings of David Chadwell