Read Malachi Chapter 1
God Says He Loves Us. Do We Really Love Him Back?
God speaks to Israel through Malachi saying, “I have loved you but…” Before God confronts them of their sin, He establishes the fact that he loves them. But because he loves them, it’s not an open excuse for sinning. That’s how our world functions today. Because God is a God of love they think he doesn’t care how we live our lives. And that definitely is not true and he makes that point as he compares the two brothers Esau and Jacob. Esau was evil and God says he hated Esau and loved his brother Jacob. It wasn’t so much that he actually hated Esau as a person, but more that he hated all that Esau stood for which resulted in God promising that Esau and his descendants would not be blessed like Israel, Jacob’s descendants.
Let us learn a lesson here that God will not be mocked. Sin does not go unpunished and if we continue in it we will miss the blessings of God. Sadly, often some of our descendants even suffer some of the consequences of our sin.
So please, let us understand God’s love for us. How magnificent it really is so that we give him honor and respect with our lives, turning from sin so that our relationship with him is not broken. God said to the priests, don’t expect my favor if you’re going to dishonor or disrespect me.
God said, “From the rising of the Sun, even to its setting I am great among the Nations.” If we truly believe this, then may we truly honor and respect him in all we do and all we say!
