Readings for today: Malachi 1-4, Psalms 50
God doesn’t grade on a curve. He will never be satisfied with leftovers. Never be content to take second place. Will not allow us to take Him for granted or treat Him with disdain. God is a refining fire. A purifying fire. A cleansing fire. Malachi testifies to the fact that when the great Day of the Lord comes and Jesus returns in all His glory, all that is evil and arrogant and corrupt in this world will be burned by fire. All that is sinful and impure and ungodly in our lives will be set ablaze. The gold will be refined. The silver purified. Only that which is of the Lord will endure.
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.” (Malachi 4:1-3)
It’s a sobering vision. One that should challenge and convict us as it did the people of Israel. They had taken their relationship with God for granted. They were not giving their best to God. Their offerings were polluted. The animals brought for sacrifice represented the worst of their flocks. Blind. Lame. Broken. Bruised. They simply didn’t measure up to the worship God deserves and demands. The priests refused to honor God’s name. They would not listen to His Word. They were unfaithful to the covenant God had established. Therefore they fell under God’s judgment and it was terrible. “But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts, and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but show partiality in your instruction.” (Malachi 2:8-9)
What is the worship God demands from us? Malachi is clear, “For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.” (Malachi 1:11) God will be glorified. His name will be lifted up. He will be worshipped by the nations of the earth. The people He loves and created will honor Him by giving Him the full devotion He deserves. They will burn incense. They will bring pure offerings. The best of their flocks. The best of their fields. They will not just go through the motions but with full hearts come to worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth.
God expects no less from us. We who have been saved by Jesus Christ have seen His glory. The glory of the One and Only Son come from the Father. As such, more is demanded from us. More is expected. God desires our full worship. God desires our full devotion. He will never rest until He has the highest place in our lives. And it doesn’t matter what’s happening in the world around us. It doesn’t matter how difficult life’s circumstance may be. It doesn’t matter what barriers may exist or what inconveniences we have to endure. God demands our worship. God deserves our worship. Now more than ever we have the opportunity to come before Him and give Him praise.
Throughout history and throughout the world today, God’s people gather for worship. They gather in the midst of war. They gather in the wake of natural disasters. They gather in the face of pandemics. They gather because God has called them to come before Him as a people. As a family. We are blessed in our day and age to gather virtually as well as physically. We are blessed to share communion and receive God’s Word. God is using any and all means to make Himself known. He is lifting His name on high. His glory is truly filling the earth. And the amazing miracle is we are invited into this experience! The door is open to His Presence! He is lowering every mountain. He is raising up every valley. He is making every crooked way straight for His people. Friends, may you find joy and peace and strength as you worship God in Spirit and in Truth yourselves!
Readings for tomorrow: Ezra 7-10