“And he will turn the hearts of
the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers…”—Malachi
4:6
The book of Luke records the account
of ten lepers who called out to Jesus, as He passed by, to have mercy upon them. When Jesus saw them He told them to, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” As they went, they were healed. However, only one returned giving thanks and
praises to God. Jesus asked the man
where were the other nine who were healed, and why weren’t they there giving
glory to God? He went on to tell the man
that his faith had made him well (Luke 17:11-19).
Just as this account reminds us that
not everyone returns to glorify God for working in their lives, God is still at
work turning the hearts of the children back to Him.
Some years ago, I was overseeing my
then teenage daughter’s homework. She
was not in the best frame of mind because I had asked her to rewrite an English
assignment. If you have every corrected
a teenager who was not in the “mood” to change their mind, you can imagine the
stressful atmosphere that was is the room.
She was unhappy with me because her teacher “did not care” if her paper
was “sloppy.” Later, as I was rechecking
the paper, I noticed a book that she did not want me to see. The book had several names of rock music
groups written on it. I shared
scriptures from Colossians 3 and Ephesians 4, with her concerning being a new
person in Christ, and what our character is to reflect, I assured her of my
love. Not only did her rebellious attitude
changed, but her eyes sparkled and her voice lifted, as she told me that her Dad loved her.
Later, I was praying for my daughter
and my heart was heavy because I longed to hear that my daughter loved me. I had seen the change in her countenance when
she said that her Dad loved her. This thought came to me: How God must yean for His
children to return and express love to Him. Somehow this brought peace to my soul. Knowing the special sparkle that came to her,
as she mentioned how her father loved her.
It was alright with me, and I had peace in my heart—because that special
sparkle should be reserved for Father’s.
Prayer—Father
I give thanks to you today for your unconditional love to me, and help me to
always have a grateful heart, in Jesus Name. Amen.
