To turn the hearts of fathers to the children

Luke describes the ministry of John the Baptist in these words:

". . . he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared" (Luke 1:17)

I don't know that there is another portion of Scripture that captures as well my sense of calling. It is the role of an evangelist, announcing the good news of the kingdom, but also that of a prophet, calling for repentance. It is a ministry that starts at home, turning the hearts of fathers to the children (by example as well as with words), and does not confine itself to Christians, but goes to the disobedient in order to turn them to the wisdom of the just. Yet family reconciliation, and the rescue of the foolish from their folly are not ends in themselves. They are for this purpose: to make ready for the Lord a people prepared - this time not for His first coming, but for His return.

This, I think, is where the strands of gospel, mission, theology and parenting (and particularly fathering) are seamlessly interwoven.