1 The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. 2 “I have loved you,†says the Lord. But you say, “How have you loved us?†“Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?†declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob 3 but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.†4 If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,†the Lord of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.’†5 Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, “Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel!†Malachi 1:1-5 (ESV)
When tragedy strikes, I often hear people speak of God’s love. Are we not brave enough or, which I imagine as true, smart enough to ask; “Really? How have you loved us?”(v2) In our modern world the only time we hear of God’s love is when we are in the midst of tragedy–and need comfort, or we are trying to get something from God, because we equate love with spoiling–giving us whatever we want, over His desires. Outside of this, we are bombarded everyday by the voice of doubt–the voice of the world that continually gives us good excuses to disbelieve supernatural events.Â
The voices ask us; “How has He loved us?” Yet, we have no answer.
We as believers need to get in touch with God to know Him and His desires. He loves us–and is Glorified when we look back and see His hand in our lives and see “Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel!†(v5) This great power of love that rescues us from damnation, heals us from the storm and sustains us through drought.
[…] This post is a fresh rewrite of a post written on December 5, 2007 titled “How has He loved us?” […]