“But for you who respect My name, the sun of vindication will rise with healing wings, and you will skip about like calves released from the stall.”
-Malachi 3:2
I write this entry with a burdened heart. Recently, I was contacted by a friend who informed me that his wife had suddenly passed away the previous weekend. The details in which the young woman’s life ended were truly saddening. There is no benefit in elaborating further into the particulars of this massive tragedy, but sufficed to say the death was unforeseen and unexpected. As I talked to my friend I tried to offer some measure of comfort to him, but what words can ever satisfy in the aftermath of an episode like this? After our phone conversation ended, I was overcome with grief. I called my wife, who was away from home at the time, and began crying uncontrollably. My words were fragmented. I could not utter complete phrases due to the deluge of sorrow. My wife, who knew the deceased young lady too, began weeping too. Neither one of could process the circumstances and the outcome. Our families periodically fellowshipped with one another via dates and concerts. At one point, we even attended the same church. In other words, we had relational history with each other. What happened that would necessitate the sad state that ultimately transpired?
I have seen my share of death, having lost a few extended family members throughout my youth. But those deaths, for the most part, were attributed to the end result of the aging process. Difficult as they were to absorb they seemed to be explainable as there is a given, inherent life expectancy. But the death of this thirty year old woman, a friend, was hard to accept. So many thoughts initially rushed through my mind. What will the upcoming funeral service be like? How will my widowed friend raise three young children now? How will the immediate family heal, and stay united for years to come?
Clearly, the scope of genuine pain and burden encompasses more people than we can ever comprehend. Hardship has a tendency to cast a large net. But God’s strength is greater than our weaknesses and His love is more powerful than our misery. The Lord is amply able to mend broken hearts and restore shattered lives. And this regenerative ability of God is readily apparent in the book of Malachi. Passage after passage in the Old Testament highlights that the Lord took exception with the rebellious behavior of the Israelites, and God’s followers in general. And Malachi is one such biblical narrative that rightly calls out superficial obedience. In Malachi 1:6 – 2:9, God levied a rebuke on the Jewish religious leaders for their role in desecrating worship. In Malachi 2:10 – 4:6, God levied a rebuke on the community of faith for allowing a fake devotion to the Lord to become so commonplace.
But within the scathing reprimands in Malachi are spiritual banners of hope. And one such spiritual banner of hope is found in Malachi 3:2. God said that if His name is respected, which implies a consecrated effort to yield unwavering allegiance, it will usher in a state of spiritual peace. In fact, the Lord likened having a dedicated trust in Him to calves being set free from confined, limited spaces in stalls. In other words, the corresponding liberation and joy that believers can experience in God is incredibly encouraging and reassuring. It can motivate us to praise through the pain. It can help us rely on faith more than our feelings. It can renew us, even when every physical and emotional fiber of our being is on the cusp of breaking down.
The message in Malachi 3:2 is just as applicable to the modern-day culture as it was at the time Malachi was penned. This generation, like the ancient world, faces fierce challenges every day, including the sudden and swift loss of loved ones. But as great as the daily challenges are there is still a prevailing hope that remains: God. Everything about Him. His love. His affection. His comfort. His nearness. His Word. His aid. His discipline. His redemption. All of it tarries on regardless of the passing of time, treasure, family, and friends. Only God endures. Therefore, let us continue to revere and respect the name that is above all other names for it reflects the only One Who can offer real, lasting hope for today, as well as tomorrow.
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