Read: Malachi 1:6-14

The priests in the days of Malachi appeared to be doing all the right things. They were making all the sacrifices they needed to make and doing their other tasks. And yet the Lord told them that they have defiled the altar. In other words, God was telling them that he was not pleased with their sacrifices.

But the priests asked, “What have we done wrong? How have we defiled you?” The problem was that the priests had been offering sacrifices that weren’t perfect; rather, they were sick or lame. Why was it so important for them to offer only animals that were perfectly healthy? The sacrifices pointed forward to the fulfilment of the wonderful promise from God that one day he would send his Son to die on the cross to forgive their sins. Of course you know that Jesus had to be perfect. It is only because he was perfect, without any sin, that he could pay for all of our sins. So if the priests were offering sick animals they were showing that they didn’t understand what a great promise God was giving them. They didn’t think they needed a perfect Saviour.

What about you? The Lord wants you to give your whole life as a sacrifice to him. This means you need to serve the Lord in everything you do. And the Lord wants you to be perfect in your service as well. He wants wholehearted love from you. But can you do that? No, you can’t. None of us can, and yet that is still what God requires from us.

But the beautiful Gospel message is that God made a way in which we can offer our life perfectly to him. Jesus, the perfect sacrifice, was offered for us. And with his perfect sacrifice he covers all of our imperfect service to God.

So, yes, we must serve the Lord with our whole life, just like the priest had to offer perfect sacrifices, but we can also thank God for his love in sending Christ to cover our sins with his perfect obedience. What a loving God we have!

Reflection with your child:

Why did the animals that were offered have to be perfect?