The world is constantly changing. That’s not new information; the world has been changing since the very beginning, and we’re not the first to notice it. The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus, who lived more than 2,500 years ago, is credited with the observation “The only constant in life is change.” Looking back through history, you will find a story of constant change. Flowers bloom and then fade. Kingdoms rise and fall. People grow, age, and pass away. It has always been hard to find anything permanent in this world.
And yet there does seem to be something unique about the pace of change in our time. No, change isn’t new, but it feels like we have more of it today than ever before. Rapidly advancing technologies seem to accelerate change to the point where the world is barely recognizable from one generation to the next. Even when things change for the better, it can be unsettling when so much about the future feels beyond our control. We long for something stable, something constant, something we can hold onto. And Heraclitus answers that there is nothing stable, nothing constant.
But was Heraclitus overstating things? Is change truly life’s only constant? The poet Robert Frost gave a slightly different view: “Most of the change we think we see in life,” he wrote, “is due to truths being in and out of favour.”[1] Truth is not subject to the whims of popular opinion. It endures across the centuries and around the world. Ideals like integrity and decency become more valuable as they become more rare. Virtues like kindness and compassion have the power to touch human hearts in every age. Everlasting truths remain true.
And where do we find such truths? All truth, like all goodness, comes from Jesus Christ, who, as the Apostle Paul taught, is “the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”[2] He is the truth, and in Him we find truth.[3] By Him, we steady ourselves in an ever-changing world. So, take comfort and hope when things that once seemed reliable in our world prove to be unstable. “The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed,” the Lord said, “but my kindness shall not depart from thee.[4]
[1] Robert Frost, “The Black Cottage,” in North of Boston (1914), 54–55.
[2] Hebrews 13:8.
[3] See John 8:32; 14:6.
[4] Isaiah 54:10.
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August 27, 2023
Broadcast Number 4,902
The Tabernacle Choir
Orchestra at Temple Square
Conductors
Mack Wilberg
Leanna Willmore
Organist
Brian Mathias
Host
Lloyd Newell
Light Dawns on a Weary World
Mack Wilberg
All Things Bright and Beautiful
John Rutter
Give Glory to His Honored Name, from Athalia
George Frideric Handel
For the Beauty of the Earth
Conrad Kocher; Arr. Mack Wilberg
Fanfare
William Mathias
How Great Thou Art
Swedish Folk Melody; Arr. Joel Raney
Lord, Through Changing Days, Unchanging
Henry Smart, Arr. Mack Wilberg
Fill the World With Love, from Goodbye Mr. Chips
Leslie Bricusse; Arr. Mack Wilberg