Purification

Readings for today: Malachi 3-4, Psalms 64

As I write, there are several wildfires burning in my part of the country. They threaten homes and other buildings. Tragically, there is at least one person who lost their life. This isn’t uncommon for us. In the heat of summer, the fire danger rises. Hundreds of thousands of acres have burned over the last twenty or so years. Their names are etched in our memories. Hayman. Pine Gulch. Cameron Peak. Waldo Canyon. Marshall. The list goes on. Fire can be devastating and destructive. However, it can also be cleansing and purifying. Some of those fires have been fueled by brush and deadwood that has built up over decades. It creates unhealthy and dangerous conditions in our forest systems that lead to larger and more uncontrollable burns once they start. Fire is a necessary part of the cycle of renewal because of how it clears out the old to usher in the new.

Perhaps this is why the prophet Malachi picks up on this image in our reading today. “For look, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and everyone who commits wickedness will become stubble. The coming day will consume them,” says the Lord of Armies, “not leaving them root or branches. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and playfully jump like calves from the stall. You will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the Lord of Armies.” (Malachi‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭CSB‬‬) God looks down on the earth and can see the wickedness of humanity stacking up over the centuries. He sees the injustice. He sees the oppression. He sees the greed. He sees the selfishness. He sees the lust for power. He sees the deceit and violence and hatred. He sees all of it and He knows humanity must be cleansed and purified in order for righteousness to spring up. So He likens His coming to that of a cleansing fire that burns throughout the earth, consuming the wicked. But those who fear the Lord will find refuge from the flames and healing underneath His wings. We will go out in the wake of the fire to renew the land and reign in righteousness over all God has made.

So what then does it mean to be righteous? It means worshipping God in the way He deserves and demands. God doesn’t grade on a curve. He will never be satisfied with leftovers. Never be content to take second place. He 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. It’s a sobering vision. One that should challenge and convict us as it did the people of Israel. 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 from us. 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 trials we have to endure. God wants our heart. God wants our full devotion. He will never rest until He has the highest place in our lives.

Readings for tomorrow: 1 Chronicles 1-10, Psalms 65

Perspective

Readings for today: Malachi 1-2, Psalms 63

So much depends on our perspective. The more narrow our perspective, the more difficult it is to see the world or our lives clearly. The wider our perspective, the more we are able to take in and understand. I think about how important it is, for example, to put oneself in another’s shoes. To try and see things from another person’s vantage point or truly listen to them share their experiences. When we do that, we develop empathy and our view of the world around us expands. However, it seems clear from the debates raging in our nation today or the divisions that exist around the world that our perspectives are only growing more narrow. We retreat further and further into echo chambers of our own making. We place ideological litmus tests on those we are in relationship with and we cut off those who do not pass. We aren’t interested in assuming the best of another person or giving them the benefit of the doubt, instead we are quick to pounce on anything and everything that doesn’t fit our narrow worldview. It’s tragic and heartbreaking and a significant source of violence and hatred in our society.

Now apply that same concept to our relationship with God. Think about how demanding we have become as human beings. We demand evidence of God’s existence. We want Him to prove His love for us over and over again. We refuse to take Him at His word and even deny the miracles He performs day after day. We want a relationship with Him…but we want it on our terms. We want Him to fit into our narrow perspective rather than trust His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. We try to squeeze Him into our theological systems or remake Him in our own image or project on Him our own feelings, values, and ideologies. The same thing was happening in Israel in Malachi’s day. “You say you love us but how have you loved us?” “Where have you been all these years?” “Why do we find ourselves in the same mess over and over again?” “You say we have despised your name but how have we done so?” “Don’t you understand how hard it is for us to give up the best of our flock?” “Do you really need all these sacrifices from us?” “Don’t we at least get partial credit for going through the motions?”

Friends, God’s perspective is much bigger and much wider than our own. He sees the past, present, and future laid out before Him all at once. He knows what’s best for us and what He has in store for us. He knows the plans He has for us to give us hope and a bright future. A covenant of love and peace and joy and abundance. He is faithful even when we are not. He remains true even when we fall away. He will never relent until we accept life on His terms, walk in His ways, and rest in His love.

Readings for tomorrow: Malachi 3-4, Psalms 64