Malachi 3:17-18 Love caused your incarnation; love brought you down to me. Your thirst for my salvation procured my liberty. Oh, love beyond all telling, that led you to embrace in love, all love excelling, our lost and fallen race.—O Lord How Shall I Meet You, ELW 241 Stanza 3 of our hymn makes a bold claim: Love caused your incarnation; love brought you down to me. These words catch our attention. We are promised that Gods primary activity is love. People in Malachis day, in the hard years of rebuilding following the exile, questioned whether God really loved them. The prophet assured them of Gods care and affection: I have loved you. But still the people wondered: How have you loved us? Show us (Malachi 1:2)! Arent there times when we ask the same thing? Prayers seem to go nowhere, troubles linger, we long for God to come and make the world right. Gods word through Malachi is meant to lift our sagging spirits: On the day when I act, I will spare them as parents spare their children ... (Malachi 3:17). In the midst of questions and doubts, we put our trust in Gods enduring love. God our parent, thank you for promising to love us always. Help us to trust in your promise to come to us. Amen. Shelley Cunningham Pastor, Zumbro Lutheran Church Rochester, Minn. Master of Divinity , 1998
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 14:05:00 +0000
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