Malachi, a prophet, writes to God’s people after they’ve been returned to their homeland of Jerusalem following a long season of exile. Coming home should be the best and most exciting thing! Except, God’s people have a lot to figure out. Do they still follow God’s covenant? What about the other people groups who now live in their homeland? How are they supposed to be in relationship with them?
It strikes me that the first message Malachi delivers from God is this: “I have always loved you” (Malachi 1:2). Exile was certainly a hard season for God’s people, and right away God wants to remind them his love never wavered. He never left them or stopped listening.
We walk through seasons that might feel like “exile.” Seasons where God seems far away or life is unfair. Perhaps you need to hear this simple yet profound reminder from your heavenly father—I have always loved you.
As Malachi continues delivering God’s message, he reminds the people that God has not changed. While the world and the culture have certainly shifted, God has not. His love has remained the same! And God’s expectations of his people have also remained the same. He asks them to be faithful and honor him with their best. God doesn’t want their impure offerings; he wants their best!
While you and I are not sacrificing animals for the Lord, God is worthy of our best, too. We don’t earn God’s love—he has always loved us perfectly and unconditionally. We aren’t giving God our best to earn love (or anything else), we give God our best because he’s worthy of it. What does it look like for you to give God your best simply because you want to … because you know he’s worthy of it?
Questions for reflection:
1. Does God get your best offerings—of your time, resources, and strengths? Or does God get “the leftovers”? What would it look like to trust God with your very best?
2. Have you ever been in a season of “exile” where faith was hard, the trials were real, and God felt far away? How did you see God’s faithfulness in that season? If you’re in that season now, what would it look like to cling to God’s promise that he has always loved you?