Transformed JuniorsSample

Pillar 2 - Persona

The Ultimate Father and Son

“And he will turn
The hearts of the fathers to the children,
And the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” - Malachi 4:6 (NKJV)

The very last words uttered from a prophet of God before four hundred years of silence were warning the world that the hearts of fathers and children must be turned toward one another – or else a curse would befall the land.

It is clear to see in our day the hearts of fathers have gone astray from their children. We can only expect the turning away of hearts to continue because of cultural norms and anti-biblical agendas. We must as men recognize that our society celebrates and encourages premarital sex, a false view of “freedom of sexuality”, and the misconception of marriage. Each of these factors will eventually threaten the very fabric of the family – and of society as a whole. Premarital sex leads to broken hearts. Unbiblical “freedom” of sexuality leads to confusion about identity. And an unbiblical idea of marriage eventually leads to a broken family. Any of these factors among several others all mitigate against a father turning his heart to his children and likewise. The Bible instructs fathers, “Fathers, raise up your children”.

If we aren’t doing our job and instilling biblical principles, standards, and morals, accompanied by our personal comprehension of our need for each of us to fully surrender to the Lord, how then can we expect the hearts of the children to be turned to the father, let alone the Eternal Father – and the current cultural recipe for disaster will only get worse.

What happens to a cake if you don’t measure the ingredients as you prep the batter? I’m not a baker but a lot of people say it is a science and if you don’t measure things properly, the cake, muffins, etc. will be ruined. There is an amazingly simple recipe to follow to see God’s blessings released over our children, and that can be found in the Father’s cookbook, in Malachi 4:6. In a world bent on changing good recipes in exchange for corrupted or cursed recipes, knowing there is a simple and easy recipe for myself to follow is encouraging. Even more encouraging is what happens next in the biblical record.

After four hundred years of silence from God (in between the Testaments), we see something remarkable. In essence, we witness the ultimate Father figure and the ultimate child figure (promised Son) turn their heart one to the other, in perfect union. A moment in history that has brought more blessing to the human race than anything in our history. I see the Father sending his only begotten Son as a Father turning his heart to his children. As we turn our hearts to Jesus, we find our hearts actually turned to the will of the Father. The recipe for disaster can now be broken at last!

Whether you are blessed with a full house of kids or are biologically childless, those who believe in Jesus Christ are all sons of God. So let’s encourage one another to turn our hearts to the Father today, and pray that the curse over our land and our families will be totally broken. May God bless you today! Amen