Malachi 3:1-4
"I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the Lord Almighty.
But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years.
Christmas is usually considered a time of joy and celebration, and in many ways it is. But the words of the prophet remind us that Jesus' coming is not without heartache, too. The Lord is being sought by the people, who are looking for the age-old covenant to be fulfilled (see Gen 12:-13; 2 Sam 7:12-14); they are longing to be the people God promised they would be, dwelling in the land God promised them, and living in God's presence.
"But who can endure the day of his coming?"
Christ comes to keep the covenant, but like any promise, our side must be kept, too. God does not desire blind obedience, but heartfelt, life-changing devotion. To be refined like gold and silver means allowing all the old, corrosive elements of our hearts to be painfully removed in order to shine in the light of God's love. Will we heed the words of the messenger, "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance" (Luke 3:8)? Will our lives reflect the life-changing devotion God desires from us?
May this Advent season challenge us to prepare our own hearts to receive God's promises by shedding the dross from our hearts, and filling them with God's love.
This post originally appears on theorchardadvent.blogspot.com
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