“You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? And now we call the arrogant blessed.’” (Malachi 3:14-15)
“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Colossians 1:19-20)
The words of Malachi give us a portrait of the nation of the Jews after their return from exile in Babylon. Apparently many of them had not learned their lesson from what they and their ancestors had endured. They turned their backs on the Lord preferring to live as they chose. There was no profit or advantage to serving Him. The Lord told those who sought Him earnestly that He would act justly and kindly. He would eventually make thing right by blessing those who served Him.
As we read the passage from Colossians 1 with these words of Malachi we must realize how much our present world, our society mirrors that of the ancient Jews. Many have turned away from the church as irrelevant or have even co-opted the church and refashioned it by redefining sin and watering down the gospel. Today, the Lord has been displaced as the ruler and sustainer of all creation, replaced by man as the central focus of the gospel. Consequently human beings make up the rules as they wish according to what is popular and trendy or what feels good or pleasurable. What the Word of God calls sin and wickedness is called good, or just a lifestyle choice. The gospel of suffering, love, obedience and self-sacrifice has been replaced with egotism and self-exaltation. The church must continue to suffer for we must preach against this trend. We must hold fast to the unpopular truth that eternal life is found only in Christ Jesus. He is the center of all life.