Luke 1:17 “And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Reading this produces a hunger in me for this sort of ministry to be fulfilled in our day. A large chunk of society’s ills today can be said to come from the failure of fathers to indeed be fathers, in more than just the biological sense. Countless fathers are absent from their children’s lives, either physically or emotionally. The list of problems that arise when that happens is long indeed, but at the head of the list would be rebelliousness. That’s why this verse says that when the hearts of the fathers are turned toward their children, the hearts of the children will be turned toward the righteous. No human father is perfect, but when they genuinely care about their children, those children will seek out good role models. We have just had the horrific incident in which it seems that one of the sons of a very successful actor and director has brutally murdered his parents, stabbing them and cutting their throats. That’s just one extreme example, but the list of failures in fathering is genuinely limitless. We need fathers to understand what their role is in their children’s lives, and fulfill it in humble submission to Father God. The children that will then be raised up will then go on to heal the gaping wounds in society. All of that said, none of this is possible without the power and grace of God. We are all weak and foolish, but God will lead us in His perfect plan if we are humbly submitted to Him.

I was deeply blessed by a father who was certainly far above average, but he wasn’t perfect. I was the only one of his four children still at home when he realized he had let his children slide down his scale of priorities. The trip we made from Japan to America, just the two of us, because my mother had gone ahead of us by a week or more, still has a very warm place in my memory, because he made a concerted effort to be with me, not just physically present. That to me was a good example of what this verse says. I in turn have not been a perfect father to my daughters, but it gives me great joy to see, via long-distance images, the overflowing joy of my grandson-in-law at the prospect of his first child being born any day now. I pray that his heart would indeed continue to be turned toward this child, and any succeeding children, so that those children will grow up knowing and loving their heavenly Father as well.

Father, thank You that You don’t leave us wallowing in our stupidity. I do ask Your grace and mercy on the fathers of the world, that they would wake up to the incredible privilege and responsibility that is theirs, raising up children who will be and do all that You desire and intend, for the blessing of the world and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!