JANUARY 19, Malachi 3:2

 
Have you ever missed someone you love? Perhaps it is a good friend who has moved to another country, or a brother or cousin who has gone overseas to study for a few years. Those we love, we miss. The same is true when we talk about God. Those who love God will look forward to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to earth with excitement and joy.

Today’s verse teaches us that unrepentant sinners who do not love the Second Coming will shudder in fear and suffer when Jesus comes again. Why is this so? Because unlike His first Coming when Jesus came as a helpless baby, He will be a King and Judge at the Second Coming. And for the unrepentant, they will not be able to stand at the Second Coming.

God will be like a refiner’s fire. I have been to a goldsmith and have seen how skilled craftsmen use a powerful torch of fire to burn away dirt or dross when making gold products. The heat is intense. If you think boiling water is hot, you would shudder when you know the fire that refiners use is at least a few times hotter than the temperature of boiling water! For the dirt and dross, coming under the refiner’s fire burns them; for real gold, coming under the refiner’s fire purifies them. So at the Second Coming, the non-Christians will fear and shudder whilst the true believers will rejoice.Why would true Christians rejoice? Because they love God, miss Jesus, and believe in the Bible’ teachings that one day Jesus will return for His beloved saints: you and me! And when Jesus finally appears, Christians know their wait is over!

Something to remember is even though gold does not melt when the refiner’s fire is on it, it still feels the great heat of the torch. Whilst pure gold will not melt under the refiner’s fire, it will be tested and tried. So, as Christians, even though we will eventually stand the test of the Refiner’s fire, we have to be brave and withstand any difficulties and tough times God may allow us to have.

Thought: Those the Lord loves, He purifies.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding me the Refiner’s fire, though hot, is good for me. I pray that I will have the perseverance to press on and to be prepared for any difficulties You may allow my way. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.