Rev. Dr. Joel D. Biermann
Malachi 3:14-18
Sunday of the Fulfillment
November 20, 2016
Most families have, in their homes, a few treasures that occupy places of honor. Typically, these treasures have been in the family for several generations, and are carefully, sometimes ceremoniously, passed down from parent to child. Each new generation is given the charge to preserve and protect the family heirloom. Maybe it’s a piece of furniture, a knick-knack or decoration, or an article of clothing or jewelry. Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote in several of her books about her mother’s treasured China shepherdess that always occupied the prominent place of honor wherever they lived, and signified that the place was home. You’ve probably got an heirloom or two in your family. It doesn’t necessarily have monetary value. In fact, most heirlooms don’t have nearly as much monetary value as sentimental value. The memories and value attached to the heirloom are the significant thing. That’s why family members almost always have a tough time at estate sales. They can’t believe that treasured possessions are being sold at such ridiculously low prices. But a broker looks at an old table and sees only a piece of furniture, and not all the different hands that polished it for generations. He doesn’t remember all the meals, conversations, and celebrations that happened around that table. That’s the way that it is with an heirloom. Its value grows out of its relationship to the one who possesses it.
It’s that way with Christians. The value of a Christian is not inherent. As Christians, we know that in and of ourselves there is nothing naturally present of value and worth. Your value is not inborn, it is derived. It grows out of your relationship with God. The value that a Christian has is the value that God brings by his choice. You have value and worth because you are chosen by God, not because there is some innate aspect of you that makes you precious. You’re precious because you belong to God. God chose you; and through the work of Jesus, bought you and claimed you. You are his very own. Like an heirloom, your value is based on your relationship to the one who possesses you. You have value not because it is built-in, but because you belong to God. And you do. You are his heirloom. You have infinite value.
Of course, I’m not telling you anything new. Even though these truths are not readily recognized in the world, you know the reality. The world endlessly peddles its nonsense about self-esteem and positive self-regard; and it obsesses over teaching people to value and celebrate themselves—you know better. You know that the only esteem that matters is God’s esteem for you, and the only regard that matters is that God regards you as his own child. You know that in your natural state, on your own, there is nothing to esteem, value, or regard: you’re just a sinner incapable of anything good or worthy. But, you also know that God loves and chooses you, anyway. You’re his heirloom. Baptism proves it. You know it. Unfortunately, though, that rock-solid truth doesn’t always seem to make much difference in your daily life. Even though you know what the Bible says, even though you know that you are God’s own chosen one, his own heirloom; that knowledge doesn’t always seem to do much for you when it comes to the realities of life here and now.
Heirloom or not, God’s own chosen possession or not, life doesn’t always, or maybe even often, feel so good. In your head, you know the facts about what God has done, and in your heart you even believe those facts; but somehow, that knowledge and faith don’t translate into the good feelings you’re looking for and think that you should have. Regardless what your head knows and your heart believes, your feelings don’t cooperate. You may even begin to wonder about the point of all this Christian faith, church, stuff. What good is it, if it doesn’t deliver the feelings you want? When it comes right down to it, people are driven and motivated more by what they feel in their gut, than by what they know in their head or believe in their heart. The need for good feelings is a powerful force, and the search for good feelings leads people into a host of destructive behaviors. Self-indulgence, addiction, debt, and divorce, all have the quest for good feelings and a life of enjoyment as their common core. Indeed, when you stop to think about it, it becomes clear that the search for good feelings routinely causes devastation in individual lives and in families.
What is less obvious, but every bit as harmful, is what the search for good feelings does not only to individuals and families, but to the church. Think about the many churches that build their ministry or programs around trying to make people feel good. It’s standard wisdom in many circles of church experts: growing churches must meet people’s felt needs. In other words, growing churches must make people feel good. Of course, people in the pews are quick to agree. “Pastor, what our church needs is…” and the sentence is completed with whatever solution or program they think will make people, usually themselves, feel better. People want to feel good, and they expect their church to help them reach that goal. Church should feel good. Members should feel good about worship, and they should feel good about what their church does. Naturally, if the feelings aren’t good, well, then, it’s time to find a new church. It feels like it’s time to move on, so it must be God’s will, because God wants me to be happy, doesn’t he? People rarely leave churches for scriptural or theological reason. They leave because it doesn’t feel good, or meet their needs.
People want to feel good. So, they church-hop and they relationship-hop. They lobby and maneuver. They plot and plan. They expect and they demand whatever it takes to make them feel the right way. It’s a problem out there. Its’ a problem in here. The realities of what God has done, and the promises of what he will do, matter less than feeling good here and now. It doesn’t matter that God sent Jesus to live, die, and rise; that’s not making good feelings now. It doesn’t matter that God has promised that Jesus will return in glory; that’s not generating good feelings now. It doesn’t matter that God claims you as his own; that past event and future promise don’t create good feelings now. Maybe those things provided some good feelings once, but now…not so much. The luster has worn off; the sweetness has diminished. It’s not a problem of unbelief. You do still believe, of course. The foundation of your faith is still the same, but the feelings aren’t what they used to be. Life doesn’t feel as good as you think it should and you find yourself questioning what you know should not be questioned because it seems like you should feel better than you do.
I’m not here to argue with you. I’m not going to tell you that you should instantly feel good again when you review the facts of God’s love and grace. I don’t doubt that many of you are simply plodding through your days with only fleeting moments of good feelings. I don’t doubt that many of you don’t feel especially warm or tingly when you come to church. I don’t doubt that you frequently find yourself wishing that you felt different, and wondering what you can do to make it different. I won’t debate with you about any of those things. In fact, I’ll even concede them, and assume that they are all true. Life, even a Christian’s life, doesn’t always feel good. That’s a fact. So, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to do what most people do, and start off on a search, looking for those elusive good feelings? Are you going to point a finger of blame at those who aren’t giving you the good feelings you expect? Are you going to lobby and demand changes in the church or in your home to create the good feelings you’re missing? Are you going to experiment with new things and new relationships until you find the right mix to generate the feelings that you want? What are you going to do?
When life doesn’t feel good, when routines and relationships and responsibilities don’t feel good any more, there is a solution. The solution is not to go on a hunt for good feelings. That’s actually the worst possible way to deal with tired, lukewarm feelings. Trying out new relationships, visiting different churches, changing jobs, or starting a new hobby will not solve your problem. That only postpones and masks the problem. The answer to the problem of unpleasant or stagnant feelings is not to change your environment. The answer is to change your thinking. Instead of demanding your spouse, or your job, or your church, or your friend to be different so that you can feel good; instead of going out and finding a new spouse, job, church, or friend to help you find good feelings; demand yourself to change. Find a new way of thinking. When the people of Israel in Malachi’s time were feeling down about the monotonous routine of life, and the apparent triumph of evil over good, many were tempted to go on a good-feeling-search. Many did go on that hunt. And, God condemned them for their selfish choice. Their good-feelings-search led them, as always, away from God and his truth.
God’s answer to the people’s spiritual malaise and emotional emptiness was a reminder of their favored position. He told them that they were his special, treasured possession, his heirloom. Of course, this was something that they, like you, knew already…and it wasn’t helping a lot. But, then, God went further and taught the people what their privileged status was going to mean on the Last Day. On that day, every monotonous routine will come to an end, God’s glory will be cut loose and held back no more. His wrath will blaze forth against all who reject him. His mercy will enfold his chosen people, and they will find an eternal resting place in God’s presence—a place of honor reserved for an heirloom. On the Last Day, the day of judgment, belonging to God, being God’s heirloom, counts for everything.
It might seem like a far-away thing, but that final day is coming. The day is coming when Christ will return for all people to see. On that day, all that matters is the fact that you belong to Christ. You are his chosen one, his treasure. It does make a difference right now. The coming day of judgment is not some distant, irrelevant, event. The radiance of that day of glory shines so brightly and intensely that is casts its light even into the present. God’s answer to his people who are discouraged and missing good feelings is the reassurance that he knows exactly how they feel, cares about how they feel, and guarantees that the feeling will not last forever. God reminds us that we are his, and that the day is coming when that will be the only thing that matters.
The key to living in the here and now is to live in the light of the coming judgment. You live each moment of each day in the certainty that Christ is coming, and that when he does, he will share his grace and glory with you. The light of judgment day shines into the present day. The light of that coming day illuminates today, making it clear how and where you should walk. Instead of searching and scurrying around looking for good feelings—so often in the wrong places—you see God’s promised Day shining on the horizon, and you take direct aim for that day. You live and function in the present with the confidence that when that day arrives, you will be ready.
As you live now in the light of that coming day, God gives you the change that you need. What changes is you. What changes is your thinking. You stop focusing on yourself and your own feelings. You focus on Christ and his promises. Whether it feels good or not, you live in the light of Christ’s return. Whether it feels good or not, you rejoice that you are God’s chosen one, his heirloom for eternity. And as you do that, as you live in the light of the Last Day, you discover that even though it’s true that feelings don’t matter all that much, your new thinking will bring with it new feelings. In time, you learn to know and even to feel the peace, security, and joy that come when you are God’s own heirloom, forever. The last day is coming. Its light is already shining. Live, today, in the light of that day. Amen.