Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
-Matthew 24:35

All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls,but the Word of the Lord remains forever.”

-1 Peter 1:24-25

Back in the dark ages, when telephones were stationary, tethered to the kitchen wall by annoying cords and limited to antiquated analog dialing devices, people needed a way to know how to get in touch with others. The solution was simplistic and effective. Phone books were created, published and distributed to everyone who had a phone line. It was the solution that made life easier and connection more available. As the jingle went, you could let your fingers do the walking. Useful, even vital information was at your fingertips, all arranged in alphabetical order and divided into the white pages containing personal phone numbers and the yellow pages which were reserved for businesses and organizations. 

However, an issue became apparent. People move, new businesses open, old ones close and the information in the beloved phone book would quickly become outdated. At that point, it became rather useless, except for acting as a booster seat or an effective interrogation tool.

As with all evolving technologies, a solution was quickly implemented. Phone customers would get a new, revised and updated book every year. If you lived in a thriving community, each year your phone book grew, even to the point of needing two phone books. The ever expanding phone books even became a main advertising tool for businesses. Designed with the ability to catch your eye, companies competed to have the best phone book presence, even choosing names that would appear first in alphabetical order. Once again, an ever changing layout was needed based on what businesses could afford. As exciting as the yellow pages looked, the white pages were the simple and pragmatic counterpart. However, the same problem persisted, once printed they were essentially outdating themselves. If not careful, it was easy to become inundated with phone books especially if you didn’t throw the prior years away.

As temporal as the world is, God is eternally the same yesterday, today and forever. So is God’s Word. As a result, the biggest problems caused by the shifting sands of this world are countered by structure and stability. Unlike a phone book, the Bible never gets outdated. The original information is the same relevant information that mankind is in desperate need of right now. 

The Bible contains the revelation of Jesus Christ and the Father’s plan for humanity. How confusing and tragic it would be if we were presented with a new Bible every year. Because God’s Word is permanent, we are able to study and memorize it. The effective application of God’s Word in our life is constant and consistent in our lives year after year. Within this context, the confidence we extend to God and His truth only increases.

Sometimes I miss the good old days when phones were attached to walls and phone books seemed like the oracle of public information. But then I remember the disappointment and frustration that came with dialing the seven digits only to hear, this number is no longer in service. 

When we dig into Scripture and offer our prayer up to the Lord, aren’t you glad that you will never hear, this number is no longer in service?