Father Issues

And his sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day, and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.  So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise up early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all.  For Job said, "It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts."  Thus Job did regularly.
Job 1: 4-5 NKJV

There is a term that is tossed about in our society today that calls the family unit a "institution."  Well, in recent years it would seem as if this institution has been broken.  The simple matter of fact is that divorce, broken homes and marriages are now commonplace in our nation.  It is also a fact that other countries look at this trend in our country with disdain.  How bad is it?  Well, according to one estimate, 24 million children, one out of every three nationwide, live in a home without a biological father present.  Other statistics are even more troubling.

~90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes.
~63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes.
~71% of high school dropouts come from fatherless homes.
~80% of rapists with anger issues come from fatherless homes.
~85% of all youths in prison come from fatherless homes.

How has a nation that has prided itself on family values and secure parent child relationships fallen so far?  I would start by calling this a major societal issue and not a American tradition.  It is no secret these days that divorce has become a easy out of the institution of marriage if one or both parties feel uncomfortable.  A glance at any yellow pages in the phone book will find a plethora of divorce lawyers advertising divorce for as little as 100 dollars!  The far reaching effects, however, are much more expensive.

"I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.  Make me like one of your hired servants."  And he arose and came to his father.  But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.  And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.'  But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.  And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found..'  And they began to be merry.
Luke 15: 18-24 NKJV

As a child of a fatherless home, I know the damages that growing up without a father can do.  However, it does not need to be this way.  Yes, divorce and single parent homes are a serious issue in this nation, and we have alot of work to do as a society in order to overcome this.  Yet, there is one Father who will never leave us, and that is our Father in heaven.  Rather than being a Father whose actions are actions are dictated by his self serving flesh, God is a father in the truest sense of the word.  For our heavenly Fathers heart is always one of love and mercy for his children.  I have likened the scripture of the prodigal son in Luke 15 as that of Jesus illustrating the love our heavenly father has for us.  For despite the sins of the wayward son, his father was awaiting his return.  How do we know this?  Well, the scriptures tell us that even when his son was "A great way off," that his father saw his beloved son approaching.  Then, despite his sons iniquities, the father embraces his lost son and lavishes his love on him once again.  It is my belief that the boys father had been awaiting his return ever since he left home with his inheritance.  This is a wonderful example of our Lords heart for us.  Despite our faults and failures, God loved us enough to send His Son to become sin in our place on a cross!  When we were guilty before Him, He erased our sins and brought us back to him.  He was that welcoming father in Jesus' parable.  We may feel that our sins make us unloved and forever stained, but we have a loving heavenly Father who awaits our return to Him.  This is the true example of fatherhood.

~Scott~