Malachi 1:14: "`Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king,' declares the LORD Almighty, 'and my name is to be feared among the nations.'"
It is so very important for us today to understand our relationship with God. Whereas so many people in our culture today want to view God as a passive, tolerant deity who tends to overlook any wrongdoings of His people, the reality is that God is the Sovereign King of the universe and expects that His creation submit to His Lordship.
The book of Malachi was written during a period (around 433 BC) when the people had become complacent and forsook their commitment to God as their Master. One of the ways that they demonstrated their contempt for the One True Lord was in their giving. Oh to be sure, they were quick to make promises that they would give their very best to God; however, they wouldn't follow through with what they had promised. When the time came for the people to demonstrate by their actions that they were submitted to the Lord and trusted that He would protect and provide for them, the people instead determined to keep the best of their livestock for themselves and give to God the leftovers . . . the animals that were injured, crippled, or diseased and likely would not live anyway. There wasn't much of a sacrifice to the Lord here, instead, they were just going through the motions of their religion.
Surprisingly, we find that the people had begun to believe the lie that they were not defiling the altar of the Lord with their contemptible sacrifices. They questioned God's accusation of their sacrilege by saying, "How have we defiled you?" This type of questioning response revealed a people who wanted to justify their wanton behavior. They were determined to live life their own way and did not wish to be held accountable to One greater than they were. In effect, they desired to be a god unto themselves.
One of the telling evidences that shows the thoughts of the people that led them down this path of sin is found in their views of God as recorded in 3:14. The people had believed that God had not been there for them, and they concluded that it was useless to serve the Lord. They believed that God had not blessed them for their prior faithfulness, and now they didn't want to waste their time anymore. This negative thinking began a downward spiral that would lead to their shallow form of religion that was all ceremony and no substance!
Of course, their abject denial of God did not change the reality that God was still Supreme over them. After all, He created them and commanded their respect and surrender. It was not that God was a tyrannical despot who just wanted to force them into submission. In fact, God shared at the beginning of the book of Malachi that He loved them [1:2]. Sadly, the people just would not accept the fact that God loved them and desired to pour out His blessings upon them if they would return to Him (3:7).
This is such a good word for us. We need to remember that God is the Lord and is due our best. Even in those times when we are in despair and wonder where God is, we need to continue our faithful obedience to the Lord, trusting that He is working out His purposes for His glory. We need not follow the negative thinking that God does not care or is not interested in us. He has promised that if we return to Him in a spirit of reverence and repentance, He will honor us with His presence. And we will be blessed by His communing with us.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Purpose and Perfection Through Suffering
Hebrews 5:7: "During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him."
Suffering is never a desired experience. None of us wants to traverse the paths of difficulty; instead, we find deep within ourselves a hope that our life experience will be one filled with lots of blessings and happiness. Still, we recognize that a life immune from headaches and heartaches is just not reality. Though it will be packaged a bit differently for each of us, we all will encounter painful ordeals that truly test our faith.
For those of us who already have been to the brink of despair, we likely have asked the proverbial "Why" questions: "Why? . . . Why God would you allow this to happen? . . . Why am I the one that has to go through this pain? Why does it seem that others have a much easier life?"
From the above scripture, we see that God the Father took Jesus His Son down some very difficult roads, but it was not without purpose. We find that Jesus learned obedience through His suffering. As Jesus "grew in wisdom" (see Luke 2:52), He was instructed by the Father that His suffering was helping to better understand that God the Father was using the experience of rejection, alienation, persecution, and ultimately crucifixion to accomplish His Divine calling as the perfect, atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. And as Jesus "reverently submitted" to the will of the Father, He became the solely sufficient remedy for our justification . . . He alone paid our sin debt, thus turning away God's just wrath towards us!
Still, this did not mean that Jesus did not anguish in the midst of His ordeal, for the scriptures tell us that He "offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears." Jesus did not gloss over the experience, trying to be happy about his plot in life; rather, He was very real and transparent with the Father, knowing that if there were another way . . . He would seek the Father's deliverance. Matthew 26:39 tells us that Jesus "fell on his face to the ground and he prayed, 'My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.'" We know that God the Father heard Jesus' pleas; still, the cup of suffering would be poured out upon Him. It is not that God the Father didn't care; rather, He affirmed to Jesus His Divine work of love in offering the world hope through His death and resurrection. A greater and more glorious purpose was to be accomplished through suffering!
This is a good word for each of us. When life takes us through very dark valleys, it is most appropriate to cry out to the Lord for His presence with us and His deliverance of us. Still, we must submit to His divine will and purpose, even if such purposes result in our suffering. What we can be assured of is the fact that God will hear our pleas as we reverently submit to Him in the midst of our difficulty. We too can recognize that God is perfecting us as we endure our tribulation, for we know that our sufferings produce perseverance, character, and a longing for Heaven, when Jesus will make all things new (see Romans 5:3-4, Revelation 21:5). Suffering makes us aware of God, and it fosters a dependency upon Him. Suffering too heightens our intimacy with Him, as it orients our purpose to His glorious will. Ultimately, suffering makes us long for our eternal life with Him. To have such a disposition is EXACTLY where God wants us to be!
Suffering is never a desired experience. None of us wants to traverse the paths of difficulty; instead, we find deep within ourselves a hope that our life experience will be one filled with lots of blessings and happiness. Still, we recognize that a life immune from headaches and heartaches is just not reality. Though it will be packaged a bit differently for each of us, we all will encounter painful ordeals that truly test our faith.
For those of us who already have been to the brink of despair, we likely have asked the proverbial "Why" questions: "Why? . . . Why God would you allow this to happen? . . . Why am I the one that has to go through this pain? Why does it seem that others have a much easier life?"
From the above scripture, we see that God the Father took Jesus His Son down some very difficult roads, but it was not without purpose. We find that Jesus learned obedience through His suffering. As Jesus "grew in wisdom" (see Luke 2:52), He was instructed by the Father that His suffering was helping to better understand that God the Father was using the experience of rejection, alienation, persecution, and ultimately crucifixion to accomplish His Divine calling as the perfect, atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. And as Jesus "reverently submitted" to the will of the Father, He became the solely sufficient remedy for our justification . . . He alone paid our sin debt, thus turning away God's just wrath towards us!
Still, this did not mean that Jesus did not anguish in the midst of His ordeal, for the scriptures tell us that He "offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears." Jesus did not gloss over the experience, trying to be happy about his plot in life; rather, He was very real and transparent with the Father, knowing that if there were another way . . . He would seek the Father's deliverance. Matthew 26:39 tells us that Jesus "fell on his face to the ground and he prayed, 'My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.'" We know that God the Father heard Jesus' pleas; still, the cup of suffering would be poured out upon Him. It is not that God the Father didn't care; rather, He affirmed to Jesus His Divine work of love in offering the world hope through His death and resurrection. A greater and more glorious purpose was to be accomplished through suffering!
This is a good word for each of us. When life takes us through very dark valleys, it is most appropriate to cry out to the Lord for His presence with us and His deliverance of us. Still, we must submit to His divine will and purpose, even if such purposes result in our suffering. What we can be assured of is the fact that God will hear our pleas as we reverently submit to Him in the midst of our difficulty. We too can recognize that God is perfecting us as we endure our tribulation, for we know that our sufferings produce perseverance, character, and a longing for Heaven, when Jesus will make all things new (see Romans 5:3-4, Revelation 21:5). Suffering makes us aware of God, and it fosters a dependency upon Him. Suffering too heightens our intimacy with Him, as it orients our purpose to His glorious will. Ultimately, suffering makes us long for our eternal life with Him. To have such a disposition is EXACTLY where God wants us to be!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
