For Kids · 4 min with a grown-up
Malachi is the last messenger in this part of the Bible. He has one big thing to remind God's people of first: how much God loves them.
Today's Story
God had a message for His people. So He gave it to a man named Malachi to share. And the very first words were the most important.
God said, “I have loved you.”
But the people had forgotten. They asked, “How have You loved us?” They couldn't even see it anymore.
So God reminded them. He had cared for them for a long, long time. He had stayed close, like a good shepherd who never walks away from his sheep.
Then God asked them a gentle question. When they came to bring Him a gift, what were they bringing? Their best lamb? No. They were bringing the sick ones. The hurt ones. The animals nobody wanted anyway.
“If you gave a gift like that to a king,” God said, “would the king be happy?”
God was not asking for more. He was asking for their hearts. He wanted them to give the way someone gives when they really love somebody — not the leftovers, but the very best.
Because that is exactly how God had always given to them.
A Big Word
Memory Verse
Talk About It
- When you share a snack with someone, do you usually give them the big piece or the little piece? Why?
- The people forgot that God loved them. What is something God has given you that you are thankful for today?
- What would it look like to give God your “best” this week — your best listening, your best helping, your best kindness?