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THE “NEW NORMAL”
The “new normal.” We have been hearing this phrase for about the past month. The new
normal is requiring six-foot spacing for social distancing, wearing a mask when you go shopping
and the necessity of rubber gloves, so as not to pick up any germs from anything you touch. The
new normal limits gatherings of people to no more than 10, working from home if possible, and
school children doing studies on-line. I even heard this week that the new normal will discourage
handshaking as a form of greeting.
The phrase itself expresses the need for change. The “new normal” may be okay for dealing
with the pandemic, but how does that work regarding the ways of the Lord? I hear too often the
cry for change, but perhaps we need to be reminded of God and His unchanging nature. God
said, “For I, the Lord, do not change; …” (Malachi 3:6). James writes, “Every good thing given
and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is
no variation or shifting shadow” (Jas. 1:17). And nearing the end of his letter, the Hebrews
writer adds, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8). (Emphasis
mine.)
I am thankful that we serve an unchanging God. We struggle to keep up with the “new
regulations” for the “new normal.” I don’t need further confusion in my life as I worship and
serve the Almighty God. In other words, the directions to eternal life were given once (Jude 3),
and I don’t have to figure out what was meant by those directions. I don’t have to debate as to
whether the Lord’s directions were “essential” or not. His Word is for all time and does not
change to fit whatever situation we may find ourselves. I can know as I read God’s Word how to
worship Him in “spirit and in truth” (John 4:24), while worshiping Him in “reverence and
awe” (Heb. 12:28). I don’t have to guess as to how to live for Christ, because Christ left us the
perfect example to follow (1 Pet. 2:21; Phil. 2:5). He didn’t change to fit the times. He lived the
same, day after day (1 Pet. 2:22-24; Phil. 2: 6-8).
Lord willing, this disease will pass and we will resume our ways of life in the “new normal.”
Let’s make sure that our lives for the Lord remain devoted to Him, “steadfast, immovable” (1
Cor. 15:58), in spite of whatever the “new normal” may be! ~P. Mowrer
