Malachi 4 | Skipping Like A Calf

“But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.” (Malachi 4:2)

For those of us who don’t live on a farm, this picture is hard to imagine. But if you grew up with cattle, this picture used by God brings an immediate, delightful smile to your face.

A new calf, enclosed for its safety in the barn, is rambunctious and eager to be at play. When released from the barn, the calf runs out into the pasture with glorious abandonment and joy. He is free, and every fiber of his bovine body illustrates this liberty.

FREE AT LAST

We are confined in this life to a dying body in the midst of a dying world. Sin has enslaved us, and it affects us all. But there’s coming a day for those who have put their trust in Jesus Christ when this world will be liberated from its corruption.

Jesus spoke of this in Revelation 21. A new heaven and earth is before us. All of those who have trusted in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins will be a part. The redeemed earth will be completely and eternally restored to its pre-fall existence. We will even receive a new body that will be untouched by decay and imperishable. It will be Paradise regained!

And in that day, we will burst forth from our stalls to glorious, calf-skippin’ freedom!

Father, thank You for what’s in store. Thank You for Jesus, our Liberator. And thank You for the promise of a restored Eden where we will forever live in perfect joy!