A Solution to Fatherlessness
We have all heard about the consequences of Fatherlessness: 75% more likely to become involve in crime, 70% more likely to use drugs, more likely to commit suicide.
In a time when families are often split, there seem to be more single parents than ever and other family dysfunctions. Do not lose hope for God is our Abba Father which means that He is our Father. The term carries with it a sense of closeness, one of the benefits of salvation is being adopted into God’s family. Here are five ways God is a Father to the Fatherless
1. God as Father provides salvation for any who believe.
God the Father sent his Son, Jesus, to die on a cross so that sinners might also become sons of God. Anyone who trusts in Jesus for the forgiveness is united to Jesus and made his brother or sister. This gives believers a family—a place where they belong:
God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” (Gal. 4:4–5)
2. God as Father gives his children an inheritance.
In biblical times, only sons could inherit their father’s property after the father died. This is why the Bible calls believers’ sons and never daughters. However, the point is not to exclude women but to emphasize the fact that all children of God—both male and female—are heirs:
There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal. 3:28)
And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir. (Gal. 4:6–7)
3. God as Father is approachable.
In the Old Testament, ordinary Israelites could not enter into the presence of God. Only the high priest could enter the most holy part of the tabernacle after a great amount of ceremonial cleansing and strict adherence to many regulations. When Christ died on the cross, his sacrifice made it possible for all to enter into the very presence of God without the need for a priest. Believers can now approach God as a son or daughter approaches a loving father who loves and cares for his children.
So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. (Heb. 4:16)
God’s children can bring their cares, worries, frustrations, joys, and laughter before the Father freely and safely.
4. God as Father disciplines his children.
In the book of Hebrews says that discipline is a sign of true sonship: Be patient when you are being corrected! This is how God treats his children. Don’t all parents correct their children? (Heb. 12:7–8)
God disciplines his children, never unfairly or unjustly, but tenderly so that they continue to be a part of his family But when the Lord judges and punishes us, he does it to keep us from being condemned with the rest of the world. (1 Corinthians 11:32)
God as Father loves his children perfectly. Human fathers fail their children in many ways either through abandonment, abuse, unjust anger, neglect, or other sins. Human fathers fail to be perfect fathers because of sin. God, however, is the perfect Father, the father every human father should be like:
Would any of you give your hungry child a stone, if the child asked for some bread? Would you give your child a snake if the child asked for a fish?
As bad as you are, you still know how to give good gifts to your children. But your heavenly Father is even more ready to give good things to people who ask. (Matt. 7:9–11)
God delights to give good things to his children. He loves, cares for, and protects his children perfectly. Whether we have a good or poor father on earth, we can rest in the knowledge that we are adopted into God’s family in Christ and have the best father ever, forever. REMEMBER THAT!!!
©Wanda Currie
Vision of Recovery believes in and practices a non-denominational Christian perspective to Addiction Recovery/Mental Health Care. Vision of Recovery integrates biblically based information with coaching and counseling interventions to treat the whole person: Spiritually, Emotionally and Physically.