The Jews, even the leaders, weren’t giving God their best. Not their best sacrifices, and certainly not their best attitude. But even though God’s people were messing up, Malachi knew that God’s grace would bless them if they came back to God and asked for forgiveness. Malachi had hope in both the people and the wisdom of the ever-faithful and merciful God.
“Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty.
Would you upload a video on YouTube? Would you write a letter? What’s the best way you know to communicate to a lot of people all at once?
People sometimes get caught up in competing to be the best at things that don’t matter much at all. But what if we could show people that it’s great to be the best at being kind, at serving others, or at being wise? Here’s a fun project to let people around you know what you value: create a bunch of blue ribbons, either with actual ribbon or with ribbons cut out of blue construction paper. On each ribbon, write a “best” award that you want to give someone. It could be anything you want to show that you notice about the person: Best Smile, Best at Being Kind, Best at Being Polite, Best Teaching Voice, Best at Forgiving, and so on. Then leave each “ribbon” where that person will see it (and write their name on it).
God, thank You for the wisdom that is always available to us through Your Word, through the messages You gave humans to help us learn more about You. Amen.