CURSE OR BLESSING? -- Devotional for February 21, from "Good Seeds"

And He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse. (Malachi 4:6)

This last phrase of the Old Testament ends with a curse, whereas the closing greeting of the New Testament is a blessing (“The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all”). Aren’t you glad we have the whole Bible! But we need to know the curses as well as the blessings. The Good News loses its meaning without the bad news: if we were not lost, there would be no need to be found; if we were not drowning we would not need to be rescued. John Newton wrote, “’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved.” Paul speaks of the patent denial of unbelievers regarding the bad news: “While they are saying, ‘Peace and Safety!’ destruction will come upon them suddenly.” (I Thessalonians 5:3). They must learn that saying something is so doesn’t make it so. Or turn it around: denial of truth puts no dent in its veracity. So, what is the curse in this verse? God is telling us that there will be families where fathers’ hearts are one with their children, and those children will, in turn, love and respect their parents. Strong families are the backbone of society – always have been; always will be. But when fathers and sons (daughters and mothers, too, of course, as well as husbands and wives), turn away from or against one another, this is a precursor to the destruction of the society wherein they reside. It is just one more specific symptom of the syndrome spoken of in Galatians 6:7, “God will not be mocked, for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. The one who sows to the flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life.” I am a father of three children, and grandfather of eleven. I cannot imagine the shame and sadness I would feel if all the hearts in my little clan were not at peace with one another, and the horror my family would face as we reaped the whirlwind of warring words, attitudes and actions! In our happy family we all do our best to keep short accounts, and to maintain open communication filled with expressions of love, not just news and chatter. And yet, we do not – we must not – depend solely on our own human endeavor to maintain a happy family. Today’s verse seems to put God in the driver’s seat: He is the initiator of our blessings. “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself” (II Corinthians 5:19), and when people, and their kids, get right with God, they get right with each other. Gone, then, will be God’s curse – and in its place, His grace!