And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.
Malachi 2:13
And here we are.
We have fallen away from our Father, our creator, our home. We have relished in the lies of men, turning our very beings into weapons against our own Father.
We have fallen short. We have turned away.
We are becoming ashes with every breath…
The time comes… man has failed us, things have fallen apart and our hopes turn to the still small voice… we pray He is still listening.
And when we are met with silence, no comfort, no shield, no grace… We ask Him why; why have you forsaken me when I needed you most, why, when I am pouring out my heart, offering myself to You in my time of need, do you not help me LORD?
But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. Isaiah 59:2
We are those who have turned from our Father and yet we weep at His altar in our time of despair. We have a Father who loves us with all of His infinite being and yet we seek Him as a last hope when He is hope alone.
As His children we have many gifts, one of which is our offering,our willingness to give. He calls us to give offerings, to Him and to others, to give of ourselves at ALL times.
Guess what? Our LIVES are our offerings! Why? To show gratitude to our Father for giving us life so that we may be useful to His will. How? By living righteously, selflessly, Godly.
Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD. Psalm 4:5
The thing is, we couldn't have a Father that would only love us sometimes. We couldn't thrive, grow or have value if we only had occasional love or support that came when only our provider saw fit to give it to us. (Example; most of the population of man being brought up by man…)
So likewise, our Father who is perfect in His glorious plan, cannot and will not allow for disobedient children to even taste of His beauty eternally. We cannot and should not turn from our Creator in selfishness and sin until it suits our needs to return, wallowing in self pity and desperation. Remember, He doesn't need you as much as He WANTS you.
For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 2 Peter 2:20-22
When knowing the beautiful plan the LORD has laid out for us in His word, it is so very, very sad to see man take this gift of life so selfishly, denying our Father for man, only to return begging and pleading for Him to fix it all for us when things come full circle.
Our Father knows we need Him...He wants us to WANT Him.
By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. Hebrews 13:15
Our lives are the offering. Every moment of it, all the time. Righteousness cannot excuse for selfishness. Saying with our lips that we love our Father with all our hearts and souls and minds requires that we follow His commandments, ALL of them, ALL of the time.
If we live as if our relationship with the LORD is reserved only for tearful moments of fear and regret at the altar, our offering is dead. We are wasteful flurries of ashes that fill the floors of the earth.
He calls us to LIVE fully committed to His will, His plan, for our sake and nothing else. We ought to humbly and graciously offer ourselves to such a wonderful LORD!
He alone is our salvation. He wants for us so completely, in a manner we could only dream to understand.
Let us not waste our offering…
Be well friends xo
