Neither root nor branch

I read Malachi this week.

4:1 says,

"For the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the proud and evildoers will be stubble; the day that is coming will set them ablaze," says Adonai-Tzva'ot, "and leave them neither root nor branch. (Complete Jewish Bible)

Adonai Tzva'ot = The LORD of hosts


Leave neither root nor branch?! The Bible is not about Abraham, Isaiah, Paul, or John who walked with God, but it is about the LORD who walked with those people. God sent Jesus to the earth, and He still walks with people like us! I was excited about the root of Christianity, and I still am. I am happily grafted into the root, but the LORD our God sits on the most high place. He can set anything ablaze - either root or branch. This verse assures me that He is the one in control. He reveals Himself and shares his secrets to whomever He chooses to do so - from the root to the branch.

Whether I am loving the branch or the root, it is meaningless if I don't love God... and all of His commands can be summed up in one command: love your neighbor as yourself. (Galatians) It doesn't come naturally to me. I love being with other people, but I love being by myself, too.


Micah 6:8 (New International Version)

He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

I spend a lot of time alone, or alone with God. My desire for this year is to love others a little more than before.