But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when
he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. Malachi 3:2
When I was a little girl, I remember the Fuller Brush man
coming to our home to sell cleaning materials. He had brushes, soaps, mops, and
various other cleaning products. Sometimes he would give us small samples. I
always looked forward to his visits.
Through the years, I have grown to love soap. With bar soap,
I love the paper wrappers, the feel of its smoothness in my hands, the bubbles,
and of course, the smell. The most important thing is the cleanliness felt
after using soap.
Malachi 3:2, uses a description of God as soap. In the
Modern English Version, it specifically uses the term fuller. Now because it is
not capitalized, it is probably not referring to a brand. To me it doesn’t
matter. I love this description, because I love soap. It also uses a
description of a refiner’s fire. Both things are used to purify. A refiner’s fire
was used to remove debris from precious metal. Soap is used to remove dirt and
germs from your body, clothes, and surfaces.
When God sent His Son, Jesus, the purpose was like soap.
Jesus gives us the purification from the dirt of sin, through His sacrifice. He
offers us His brand of soap which causes a washing away of the old self, to a
clean life with Christ.
Nothing feels better than to take a shower and wash all the
grime, sweat, and dirt accumulated on our body. Your skin feels rejuvenated,
fresh, and clean. That is exactly what happens to your spirit, when you give
your heart to Christ. It’s a wonderful feeling to be rid of all the sin that
has accumulated, and to feel the burden of guilt washed away.
So the questions in Malachi 3: 2 are, “Who can endure the
day of his coming? Who can stand when He appears?” As God goes through His purifying process, He
will separate the debris from the pure. Those in Christ are now pure and blameless.
They are the ones that will be able to endure, and stand on the day of His
return.
Now we have one other reason to like soap. Every time we
take a bar in our hand and smell the sweet scent, we can be reminded of God’s
gift to us, and give Him thanks for His cleansing power. Jesus really does make
all things new.
Dear Father,
Thank you for being like soap, and purifying us through the
sacrifice of your Son, Jesus.
Amen
Comments
Post a Comment