Generations often don't understand each other. Older folks say youngsters are lazy and entitled. They fritter away their lives thumbing sarcastic texts on their handphones at chic coffee bars. Young people think the old fogies are whiners who refuse to retire, preventing the young from getting good jobs.

Does God have anything to say about this generational divide? Yes, He does. He ends His First Testament by promising that Elijah will come to ″turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents″ (Malachi 4:6). Was that a surprise? Nothing in Malachi hinted at generational tension. Why bring it up at the end, seemingly from nowhere? Here's my guess: relationships are important, and they are always present, even when unspoken.

The good news of Jesus reconciles us to God and to each other. Jesus brings us together, starting with those who are closest to us. Godly parents and children won't harp on what bothers us about each other. Instead, we'll turn our hearts towards each other, focusing on what we share in Christ.

God does not make an empty promise. The angel told Zechariah, John the Baptist's father, that his son would ″turn the hearts of the parents to their children″ (Luke 1:17). This promise, however, is not a guarantee for everyone. The final words of the First Testament warn that if parents and children do not turn their hearts towards one another, which presumably comes from being reconciled with God, then God ″will come and strike the land with total destruction″ (Malachi 4:6).

He would follow through on this threat. Israel rejected John the Baptist and Jesus, so God did ″strike the land with total destruction″, using the Romans to raze Jerusalem to the ground in AD 70.

You and I can't control what others do, but we are responsible for our choices. We may be stuck in an apparently hopeless situation. It shows no sign of getting better. We cannot change our circumstance, but we can change how we respond. We can receive God's reconciliation in Christ, and leverage that to reconcile with others. At the end of your life, it won't matter where you were stuck, or for how long. The only thing that really matters is Jesus and the people He gave you to love. If that's what will matter then, why not get a head start? Love Jesus; love people.