Sign up for The Good Stuff

Our weekly newsletter filled with news, updates, and inspiring stories of how God is working in the Bay Area.

"*" indicates required fields

Sign up for The Good Stuff

Our weekly newsletter filled with news, updates, and inspiring stories of how God is working in the Bay Area.

"*" indicates required fields

Want to receive “The Good Stuff” newsletter in your inbox? Sign up here.

He will turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers.

– Malachi 4:6 NASB

I love being a father. My kids are three of the best things that have happened in my life, and I know I am not the only dad who feels this way. It is not easy though; the highs and lows of fatherhood have been and continue to be some of the greatest challenges of my life. 

Additionally, the pandemic has made being a dad even more of an adventure, and sometimes I feel like my heart can’t handle any more. 

The verse above is foretelling the power of John the Baptist’s preaching. It says one of the greatest impacts of repentance is the hearts of fathers turn toward their children and vice versa. Father’s Day can be wrought with many different emotions; some, like me, have lost our dads, while others of us have never known our dads, and still others of us have pain or scars in our relationship with our dads. One thing we all share is a Father in God who loves us no matter what and always wants to be closer to us. 

I am grateful to have had two great examples of fathers in my dad and my father-in-law. Both have taught me many valuable life lessons. When I decided to become a Christian some 36 years ago, though, my dad thought I was making a big mistake. We had a lot of ups, downs, heartbreaks, and breakthroughs in our relationship over the course of those years. I now look back and see that every one of them was a part of God’s plan to turn our hearts, which culminated in 2015 with my dad being baptized!

Now, with Father’s Day approaching this weekend, I want to share another great story of God changing the heart of a father and his kids. 

God changes hearts

The same way a loving father feels toward his children— that’s but a sample of your tender feelings toward us, your beloved children, who live in awe of you. You know all about us, inside and out. You are mindful that we’re made from dust.

– Psalm 103:13-14 TPT

Airish first came to church with Del and Daurence Johnson’s family. Soon afterward, she studied the Bible with the San Jose State campus ministry and was so inspired she decided to become a Christian. 

However, God was not done with her family yet. Airish’s mom and dad, Sally and Andy, built a great friendship with the Johnsons and others, which led her mom to decide it was time for her to study the Bible. As Sally’s convictions grew and she changed, she was also baptized!  

Now it was Andy’s turn. Andy had a lot of unresolved hurt, pain, and heartbreak that had hardened his heart and often came out in frustration and anger. This had created a lot of distance between him, his wife, and his kids—until one day Airish opened up with her dad about her life, her hurts, fears, dreams, and feelings about their relationship. Andy’s heart melted. 

Through that conversation and his personal Bible studies, God gave Andy a humble heart that could love and have compassion for his family. Andy’s new soft heart also helped him repair his relationship with his son and they are now closer than they have ever been. It wasn’t long after these talks that Andy was also baptized! 

Andy and his family give me a lot of inspiration that God can change anyone’s heart, and when he does it can lead to an entire family growing and changing! This Father’s Day, I am grateful for being a dad, grateful for the fatherly influences I have benefited from, but most importantly, I am grateful for God being a Father who loves us all!

Until next time,

Scott and Margo Colvin

Written by

Scott Colvin

Scott Colvin is an evangelist at the Bay Area Christian Church. Scott ran cross country for the University of North Carolina. Some say he's still running to this day.