Re-entering the world of the Blog - the heart of the Father

Last night, I had the privilege of spending time with a young couple whom we have known somewhat in passing. It was great to get to know them better, and share in the journey that they are on. They shared with us a scripture from Malachi 4:5-6...the last two verses of the Old Testament. "Behold, I will send Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 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." As I pondered the scripture for awhile, I came up with a few questions. (1) What does it mean to be a father? (2) Why is God so concerned about restoring the hearts of fathers to their children and children to their fathers?...Will that hold back the wrath of the Lord? Eph 6:2 says, "Honor your father and mother"(this is the first commandment with a promise), "that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land." The inverse of this of course is that if you don't honor your father, it will not go well for you (the striking of the land with utter destruction?). "Fathers do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." In order to protect the children from judgement, they must honor their father (and mother). Knowing this, God instructs fathers not to provoke their children to wrath...and further, to bring them up in the training and discipline of the Lord. A child who is brought up in the ways of the Lord should, by default, be equipped to honor his father. So, the role of the father is to love, train, and discipline, and the fruit of this is a child who honors his father. Psalm 68:5 says, "Father to the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation." We are instructed to imitate Christ, and He only did what He saw His Father doing. Therefore, I suggest that we should also become fathers to the fatherless, as followers of Christ. Finally, we, as earthly fathers reflect the image of our heavenly Father (so don't provoke your children to wrath - if they reject you, they will likely reject God too). For those without earthly fathers, we can become that example / image of the heavenly Father, by coming alongside younger men, as spiritual fathers.