"I have always loved you."
That's God's overwhelming message on the last day of the year 2020 from Malachi 1:2.
"I mean always— since the beginning of time until the end of it", Revelation 22:13 emphasized.
Loved.
Cared for.
Pursued.
Protected.
Provided for.
We are loved— in all ways, always.
There can be times we are oblivious to God's relentless love but He never did He stop pouring it to His children. 2020, though a difficult year, isn't an exemption.
Perhaps after God's great display of affection and protection in the previous year, it is about time loving God becomes the focus of 2021.
Here are some ways to do so from the book of Malachi:
Offer what's best.
The Israelites were guilty of animal offerings that are crippled and diseased (Malachi 1:8). In the New Testament, it is pointed out that the best thing we can offer to God are our holy and acceptable lives.
Offering the best of who we are can be through avoiding what can damage us. It is important to make the right choices so that our hearts can remain whole.
(Disclaimer: While it is never wrong to draw near to God in brokenness, those who have been made whole must seek to keep it that way.)
To love God is to avoid damaging your own heart.
Take warnings to heart.
Malachi 2:2 was tad serious about curses we bring upon ourselves simply because warnings were not taken to heart. God in His loving nature, gives multiple warnings in order to save us from destruction.
May 2021 be a year we are more sensitive to:
Identifying things to let go of from the past.
Alleviating unhealthy habits in the present.
Recognizing future plans that aren't aligned to God's will.
To love God is to listen to His warnings.
Don't cheat.
Cheating may seem like an easy way but it leads to nothing great. Being unfaithful in marriage is a sure way to bring sorrow in the family. God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16). Being unfaithful in our finances pushes God's protection away, making our jobs, businesses, and ministry prone to devastation.
2021 will be a great year if in all 365 days, we're honest.
To love God is to be faithful in every aspect of our lives.
The wonderful promise once we do all of the above with much passion and commitment is this:
"Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”
Malachi 3:18
Then, 2021 will be a year where we can say, "I tried to love You, God in all ways, hopefully always."