Amos 5:4-6 This is what the LORD says to the house of Israel:
“Seek me and live;
do not seek Bethel,
do not go to Gilgal,
do not journey to Beersheba.
For Gilgal will surely go into exile,
and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.”
Seek the LORD and live.

Human beings are very prone to fixate on particular places or words or rituals, when the only thing that doesn’t change is the God who created it all. The statement, “You can’t go home again” is justly famous because it is true; things change and we change. However, God never changes, and when we return to Him, we have changed but He hasn’t. Actually, our concept, awareness, and understanding of Him changes, but when that is in the direction of truth, that’s a good thing indeed. What makes things risky is that there are many very wrong ideas about God circulating, so if we don’t have our roots firmly in God’s truth, we can be swept away. Paul called it “being blown about by every wind of doctrine.” (Ephesians 4:14) It is only when our focus is on seeking God Himself, as He tells us here, that we live indeed in the peace and safety He intends for us. This applies across the board. Jesus even told us to seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness ahead of what we usually think of as the “bare necessities!” (Matthew 6:33) We live in the flow of time, and change is inevitable for us. Ultimate stability, which we instinctively seek, is found only in the One who is outside of time, and He calls us to seek Him and live.

I’ve probably had as many moments of wanting to freeze time as anyone, but I’ve had no more success at it than anyone else, either. Young people often want time to pass, to get on to something they look forward to, but now that I’m 65, older than my father was when he died, I am sharply aware that our physical time is limited, and it seems to pass too fast. I choose to receive and rejoice in each moment the Lord gives me here, desiring that it be used as He intends because I know that is the very best thing for me and for those around me. As a pastor, I deal with people who think that by doing nothing they can stop the flow of time, as well as people who fear that the current state of things will continue indefinitely. When such people are in the same family, the conflict is acute! I am to speak the truth in love, helping both people understand that God is the only thing that never changes, and He is to be trusted. I need to remember, and help them understand, that we have a part in the changes that occur in our lives, but we will get it right only to the degree that we are seeking God, just as He tells us in this passage.

Father, thank You that my parents taught me by example to seek You. Thank You that they lived well indeed, by Your standards, for the blessing of many and for Your glory. Help me do the same, drawing others to seek and find You by my example, so that Your Name may be hallowed as Your kingdom comes through Your will being done on this earth, in and through us, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!