Turn

 Malachi 4:6 ESV

And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”


This verse is counterintuitive. John the Baptist, who it refers to, was a fiery preacher who we might not associate with inculcating family harmony. Yet with his message of repentance for forgiveness of sins, John was calling people to change their minds about any family grudges they may have been harbouring. One of the ten commandments is to honour our parents, not to ghost them, even if they're 'toxic'.

John was preaching in moral, religious times. One might not have thought his message of family renewal would be necessary. Yet Jesus condemned the religious people of his day for their religious giving at the expense of generosity to parents.

Didn't Jesus say we must hate our family members and love and follow him instead? Not quite. What he was saying is that our love and honour of God should make our love and honour of family members pale in comparison.

Jesus sends humble preachers like John the Baptist as a stay of execution for their hearers. If Lot has spoken out in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. As God's people, are we calling others to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus?

'O Lord God, may we rebuild broken family relationships, for the glory of Jesus we pray, who gave his life for our reconciliation, amen'.

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