I recently came across a wonderful quote from Nelson Mandela, a Nobel Prize winner, an former President of South Africa. He wrote or said:
There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.
This has a wonderful spiritual application. God’s word is unchanging. The epistle of Jude states that it has been “once for all delivered to the Saints” (verse 3). As such, it serves as a standard by which we can examine and compare ourselves.
One of the great dangers of any Christian is to, with time, begin to drift away from God. Societal influences, changes in circumstances and the passage of time can lead to subtle changes that may not even be noticed by the careless Christian. He may believe himself to be every bit as faithful to God as in the past, not recognizing that he has left the moorings, and has changed the profession of his faith.
However, a careful and frequent comparison between his faith and God’s word will catch any drift, thus saving him from an unfortunate apostasy! “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? — unless indeed you are disqualified” (2 Corinthians 13:5).
