Worn Out

Hebrews 1:10-12
In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But You remain the same, and Your years will never end.

I had to replace my Bible cover today...well I guess I didn't have to, but the zipper was and to keep things from falling out or falling open, the zipper pull had to be put halfway up the side. That kept the two sides together, whether the zipper teeth held together or not. I have loved that piece of fabric...it was a floral and had GOD BLESS YOU on the sides. It was easy for me to find my Bible in a crowd. There were pockets on both the front and back, collecting sermon notes, nursery and music schedules, and prayer request sheets.  It was fabric that reflected my personality at the time. Classic, calm, and practical. It lasted me a long time...a LONG time. But it wore out. Like a garment. Much of my wardrobe is in the same condition. It is wearing out. The sleeves on sweaters loose their elasticity and hang limp. Holes and worn spots show signs of abrasion after years of faithful service. There are clothes you love that just loose their function, their newness, and their threads...leading them to not even be fit to donate to Goodwill. The wear out.
Then things just get dirty. We wear clothes, sweat and slough off skin cells, and the clothes become soiled, on the outside, or from the inside out. Dirt and dust, skin and sweat...it's not the fault of the clothes, but they need to be removed to be cleaned. We take them off and roll them up to be put through a cleaning. They are changed for another set of clothing. We don't shower in the clothes...we remove them and trade them for others.
The scriptures say that some day God will roll back the clouds, the skies, and the whole heavens. They will perish. They will have served their purpose, and they will be cast aside. Everything except God Himself will be exchanged for something new. A new heaven where Satan never walked or talked and no evil ever existed. Our bodies are exchanged for new ones. A new earth will be built that will never have temptation because the tempter will be burning in a lake of fire.
We see the earth aging...we see parts of it wearing out daily. Erosion happens, decay and mold take over places, and everything we build eventually wears away through time and elements. Few if any buildings from a thousand years ago stand today. We see vestiges of ruins, and that is what we call them, because that is what they are. They are in pieces. We can see a bit of what they used to be in all of their grandeur, but they are no longer glorious.
All things are wearing out except God. He never wears out... He never needs replaced or renewed. He watches generations come and go and doesn't blink an eye. We get to the end of any day and we need rest and renewal, cleaning and changing. Not our God. He is...I AM. This day, this night, and the next and the next.
The image of the clothing is something we can see and experience. Cloth is one thing that really does not survive long. Preservation of material is very difficult. Air and light, abrasion and use all take it's toll to the point that textiles lasting several generations are either brittle, rotted, or so delicate that we cannot use them for their intended purpose. The rug will fall apart under our feet, the quilt will tear at the seams or even in the main fabric, and the gloves or socks will not stand the stretching and pulling to get them on. They may be put into a shadow box or museum, but they are not what they were...they become useless for anything but looking at. They may be displayed for short periods of time, but then are stored away so that even light will not touch and further destroy them. Go to the Herbert Hoover Museum in West Branch, Iowa, and you may or may not get to see the embroidered flour sacks made by those grateful to the US for keeping them alive with food sent in them during the war. They were strong bags in their day, but now to keep them as a momento of history, they are rotated in and out of display. They are changed, cleaned again, and stored in humidity and light controlled environments in acid-free paper and boxes. There is a quilt preservation area at the University of Nebraska that fulfills a similar mission...preserving quilts for future generations to enjoy because the ones we use wear out. My mother-in-law made us quilts, and the ones the kids and we as adults used are showing their age. The embroidery on my son's baby quilt is almost totally gone, loved off over the years. The fabric from some of the quilts has holes worn in them because of the dyes used, the handling and weight, and the other factors that make cloth destroy itself. Bugs, dust, and other factors do it in...and the only way to preserve it is not to use it, store it in the dark, and only bring it out to admire and store away again. The earth doesn't work that way...the water cycle, the air cycle, the digging and burning and building and blowing all take their toll.
And heaven...apparently even it is wearing away by the battles fought in the heavenlies as described in the book of Daniel. There are forces of evil working outside of our realm that we can't begin to understand, but they, too, will be conquered and defeated, and the place they occupied replaced like a dirty robe after a long battle.
But God is not touched by even this. He never changes...and is the only Thing in the universe that doesn't need to...and for our sakes is the stabilizing force in life. When the world around us appears to be falling apart, IT IS. BUT I AM is still there, unchanged, unchanging, and perfect in all HE IS. Amazing...and reassuring. We will all be changed, but not forsaken. It will be the best change...a perfect fit! And that will never wear out again.