Turning the Hearts

Last words.  Often the last words we say to each other are well thought out and important.  We want to stress things that we don't want loved ones to forget.  I saw something the other day in the Bible that I had never noticed before concerning last words that I thought was worth meditating on a little bit.

The Book of Malachi is the very last book in the Old Testament.  Malachi was the last prophet and after this book was written, the 400 "silent years" occurred in which God did not speak to His people until the New Testament times.  In the last two verses of the last chapter in the last book of Malachi, God's words seem to echo out His heart:

5 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.” -Malachi 4:5-6 NIV

To me, that speaks volumes.  It tells me first that God values greatly the institution of the Family.  And of course he should - He created it!  It also tells of his heart for restoration, for wrongs being righted, for walls of estrangement to be torn down.

I love my family.  We have had our share (or more than our share) of difficulties and continue to have them. I'm sure most families are the same.  I want to always ensure that my heart is turned to my children.  I want to keep the doors of communication open and I want to love unconditionally.  Our oldest two will be leaving again for college shortly and we realized Sunday during Truffle Sunday that our time with all five of our family members under the roof is numbered.  Soon it will be just Tricia, Benjamin, and me in the house.  It will be quiet in the house!  Too quiet.

Russ, Laura Lee, and Benjamin - Truffle Sunday August 10th

God's heart is evident to me in that the last words are about reconciliation of the parents to the kids and the kids to the parents.  Further evidence to that is that one of the 10 Commandments, "Honor Thy Father and Mother" is the only commandment with a promise that warns you to honor your Father and Mother so that your days will be long on the Earth.  God wants children to have respect for their parents.  But there are reciprocal admonishments for the Father as well, in Ephesians 6:4:

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Fathers are instructed to raise their kids in such a way that they treat them with gentleness and mercy, while at the same time providing structure, discipline, and rules - a delicate balance.  Sometimes this balance gets 'out of sync' and when it does relationships can be strained or be broken.  God desires that those relationships be restored. When there is right relationship, there is harmony in the family.  That makes every father happy and makes The Father happy.