| 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 |
Remember the stories we have heard about doing laundry during the generations of our ancestors? We’ve been told that our great-grandmother found it necessary to scrub the dirty clothes over a washboard and use coarse, alkali soap. No “pods” full of a sudsy detergent thrown into an automatic washer. To “rub out” the stains and grease, she showed no mercy to the old-fashioned fabrics.
Could the prophet Malachi have been expressing God’s intention that His people go through this kind of rigorous scrubbing on a daily basis? No, I don’t think so. Malachi was using this image for the important work of preparing for the coming of the Lord. In Malachi’s day, we can see the reference to Jesus’ coming the first time. But, in the context of Malachi’s words, we can also see a reference to Jesus’ second coming. Malachi 3:1 shares God’s words:
“Suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.
Once John the Baptist came on the scene, he continued with the prophecy by telling the people in Luke 3:7-8:
You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
This kind of straight talk from God’s spokesmen was meant to wake up those who wanted to follow Him. They would not be prepared for Jesus’ coming by simply standing by and watching other people, or by sitting on the sidelines believing this constituted readiness. These prophets meant business and expected Jesus to come with the kind of abrasive cleansing that would take away the deep stain of sin which has permeated the fabric of our lives.
The coming Season of Lent gives us a perfect time to examine our lives, to allow a deep scrubbing away of our ingrained sins, to change old habits, and to develop new godly habits. We should remember that we are preparing for that second coming of Christ at some yet unknown time—as suddenly for us as the birth of Christ was for the first century believers.
In these days, let us remember the words of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 5:25 that remind us of Christ’s love and intent for His church:
Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
During this Season of Lent, let us give ourselves to Christ for His cleansing, by allowing His written Word to go after the stains of our sin. Although it may not be pleasant, as Christ’s bride, may we be ready to meet Him when He suddenly comes to us. May God help us and bless us during this precious Season of Lent.
