Rev. Joshua Murray, Christ Cumberland Church
Malachi 4:1-2a
For almost a year, I lived just outside the town of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The house where I lived was right in the middle of a large field where a variety of crops were grown: things such as hay, cotton, and rice, just to name a few. At the end of the growing season for each crop, shortly after the hay had been cut or the crops had been harvested would come a day when the farmers would perform what is called a controlled, or prescribed, burn. This wasn’t a raging inferno, but it did get rid of any crops that were left behind, or weeds and debris that had grown among the crops during the season.
For days afterward all you could smell when you left the house was the acrid, terrible smell of ash from the burned plants. I imagine this experience is one that many people in our denomination, and probably many of the people in Malachi’s audience, knew well. We all know how destructive fire can be. Even if we haven’t faced it ourselves, we know of a friend or family member whose home has been burned by a fire. So when Malachi says that evildoers will be burned up and that neither root nor branch will be left, we know that means the destruction will be complete, and it will be terrible.
But we also know that the fire will be temporary. Those controlled burns are done to cleanse the fields of weeds, kill bad seeds, and prepare the ground for new growth. As terrible as the destruction of fire can be, it is vital to encouraging healthy growth in the future. The fires we face in our own lives can be seem to be devastating to us while they occur. They can be painful for some time after they occur. But we never face them alone. The fires are only temporary. We have to use those fires, those difficult times, to strengthen our faith. We need to use the lessons we learn so that our faith comes back more vibrant and healthy than we ever were before.
Submitted by Rev. Joshua Murray
Christ Cumberland Presbyterian Church
19501 Holly Lane, Lutz FL 33548
(813) 909-9789 • Service Sun. 10:30