A Grace-Filled Advent

If grace fills the gap between gratitude and grief, it also fills the gap of how we are called to love God because on our own, we continuously fall short.

God always knew we would need divine intervention to flourish.

We were created finite beings who were never designed to hold the same capacities as God or angels¹. Yet, we set ourselves up with unrealistic expectations that we were never intended to meet.

There is a lot of noise in our world today, including discussions about how to get away from toxic beliefs about God and deconstruct to whatever will make you feel safe and happy. In its simplest form, this is healthy, but when people start saying things like “I love God but I can’t love the church or people” that is a lie that will stifle their spirit. If you don’t love God’s people (aka the church), then you don’t love God.

As long as we think that loving God is the same as loving our friends or family, we’ll never hit the mark of loving God the way He deserves.

The truth is, we simply cannot love God in our own strength. God humbly came down to be present with us and offer a solution to this quandry, for our souls and for His glory.

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I wasn’t planning on writing Advent-focused content this year. As you know, I am very inspired and feeling led to share some studied thoughts with you on the church and our collective witness to the world today. But, as I was doing my personal reading through Scripture for the Advent season, I stumbled into Malachi.

An author-friend recently invited me to join her on Facebook Live to chat about Advent and the devotional book I wrote a few years ago, and our conversation inspired me to dig a bit more into the last prophecy we have on record before 400+ years of silence, awaiting the arrival of John the Baptist and Jesus.

“I have loved you, says the Lord.” (Malachi 1:1)

The final prophecy before the New Testament begins with God’s love for us. The rest of the prophecy deals with Israel’s failed attempts at loving God, and it ends with a promised solution where grace can fill in the gaps where our love falls short.

As we consider Advent and how the church should respond to Christ’s long-awaited arrival, Malachi is a beautiful challenge and reminder of God’s goodness, justice, and guidance.

Greater than This

After God proclaims His love to Israel, their immediate response is not gratitude; they question how God has loved them. They were so lost in their current unfortunate circumstances that they had forgotten the faithfulness of God from years past.

^“Edom may say, “Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins.”

But this is what the Lord Almighty says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the Lord. You will see it with your own eyes and say, ‘Great is the Lord—even beyond the borders of Israel!’” —Malachi 1:4-5

God is quick to remind the Israelites here, through the words of Malachi, that whatever they may build, He can certainly demolish, and even if He does, He is still worthy to be praised.

Because what God offers us is worth far more than our earthly possessions and expectations. The Lord alone is our portion, worthy of our praise.

We, the church, often find ourselves with priority problems. Are we so focused on a building to sit in that we forget all the goodness God has provided us for centuries? Are we neglecting the heart of worship for the sake of hitting the top charts above other worship bands in the country?

Have we so quickly forgotten the faithfulness of God when our earthly portions don’t add up the way we want?

Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
    you make my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    surely I have a delightful inheritance.

Psalm 16:5-6

An Honorable Sacrifice

As Malachi continues calling out the downfalls of the priests, we see many parallels to how we practice being the church and living righteously today. The Lord reminds the Israelites that while it is good to honor authorities (recalling the 5th commandment to honor thy father and mother), there has been a serious lack of respect for God alone among the people.

Their sacrifices were more like sloppy seconds than first fruits. If you remember the story of Cain and Abel, you might recall that God doesn’t look so favorably upon stingy sacrifices. It reveals a lack of trust and relationship.

We, like the Israelites, may say we love God but regard Him as just another item on our checklist or a way to inflate our self-worth when we serve Him heartlessly, for our own gain.

Shut the Doors

God makes it abundantly clear that he would rather see the doors of the temple shut than for the people of God to continue with such wasteful, inauthentic worship. Fake sacrifices, no honor, faithlessness, and forgetful ungrateful hearts are not glorifying to God, and He is too just to stand for it.

“‘Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will accept no offering from your hands.’” Malachi 1:10

If you read Malachi² for yourself, and I hope you do, you’ll see the intensity of the Lord’s anger through the words of His prophet. It might cause you to remember why you steer clear of reading the Old Testament.

This conversation with God and His people in Malachi points to a solution God provided which was far greater than a vengeful act of writing humanity out of the story (which is what we surely deserved).

God promises that nations will sing praises of His name. His promise here to the Israelites is that there will be a day when things are reset and people will be able to properly glorify God, despite their shortcomings.

“‘My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to me, because my name will be great among the nations,’ says the Lord Almighty.”

God’s grace in sending Jesus to earth over 400 years after the Israelites heard this message from Malachi is that we now have a way to honor, revere, and love God to the fullest He deserves.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” John 14:6-7

Without Jesus, God embodied, coming down to earth, walking with us, talking with us, healing us, and dying for us, we would have no way to love, respect, and glorify God in our human strength.

Not by our own might, but to His name, be the glory.

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By the way, if you’re looking for a daily Advent devotional to keep you learning and delighting in God’s goodness this season, here are a couple of things I’ve written previously.

Miracles in the Meantime: A 31-Day Advent Devotional

Take 31 days this December to re-discover the hope in the plans and promises God has for each of us. Each day is filled with truth from Scripture, relevant stories, and opportunities to reflect on what God is inviting you into each day this holiday season.

Everyday Emmanuel: A Daily Substack Series

Last year, I wrote daily content in a separate Substack publication. Each day focuses on a specific characteristic of God. If you want to check out those articles, you can do so here. Each page is dated so you could follow along each day or just read a few here and there as you like!

Each day you’ll find devotional content to read (or listen to), a song for the day, a breath prayer, and a reflection question. This is great to do with friends or family, too!

Just to clarify, even if you subscribe to Everyday Emmanuel, I won’t be creating new content for that publication this year. But please enjoy the devotionals from last year!

1. See Psalm 8

2. If you want to follow along with my reading this December, I’ll be sharing a Sunday newsletter each week on the next chapter of Malachi:
Dec 3 — Malachi 1
Dec 10 — Malachi 2
Dec 17 — Malachi 3
Dec 24 — Malachi 4