Malachi 4:5–6: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet / Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. / 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.”

December 29th, 2021 by Pastor Ed in devotional

This prophecy states that Elijah would come to announce the Messiah’s arrival, and we understand from Jesus’ words in Luke 1:17 that at Jesus’ first coming, John the Baptist was a type of Elijah. Moses and Elijah themselves appeared with Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration in Matthew 17:1­–13, and are probably the 2 witnesses mentioned in Revelation 11:3 who will appear during the Great Tribulation. Jesus warned that taking up the cross and following Him could lead to divisions among families, as some members follow the Lord and some do not (Matt. 10:21). This verse says at Jesus’ second coming, there will be a reversal of this heartbreaking discord and families will be reconciled to each other.

The statistics of children who follow their parents in faith are very interesting and revealing. One study showed that when the mother alone is an active believer the likelihood that the children will also become active believers as adults is less than 20% or less than 2 out of 10. But when the father and mother are both active believers, the likelihood that the children will also become active believers as adults increases to 75% or about 3 out of 4.

Fathers have great potential for good or evil in their children’s lives. Several studies have confirmed that, in the more than 50 nations studied, the absence of a father is a stronger factor than poverty in contributing to juvenile delinquency. However, being a good father does not mean giving a child everything they ask for. There is an old proverb that says it well: “Give to a pig whenever it grunts and to a child whenever he cries, and you will have a fine pig and a bad child.” God wants us to raise fine children.

“LORD, please help us today to influence the next generation toward Your Kingdom.”