God is A Father to the Fatherless

There is a fathering crisis! I've read some sad facts from Fathers dot com that children from fatherless homes are more likely to be poor. They become involved in drug and alcohol abuse and 4.3 times more likely to smoke cigarette. They are twice as likely to drop out of school and suffer from health, emotional and behavioral problems. Boys born out of wed-lock are more likely to become a juvenile offender. While girls 15-19 years old are more likely to engage in premarital sex and as a result become pregnant. This is the gathered facts from across America but I think a similar scenario holds true across the globe. Is there anything we can do about this?

God is a Father to the Fatherless

The Bible says in Psalm 68:5 that God is a father to the fatherless... and in Psalm 27:10 David said that though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me. God loves the fatherless. This is the first message that we can share to people we know who are fatherless or those who are being raised by single moms. It would be difficult to answer the question why God allowed them to be fatherless. But it would sure make a difference if they would know and believe that a Heavenly Father loves them and is always on their side in spite of their absentee father.

The Heavenly Father already demonstrated this love in sending down His Son Jesus to reach out to the world. Through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus, we are adopted into God's family by virtue of faith. John 1:12 says this to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. It is wonderful to have a sense of belonging especially for those who feel that they do not belong.

Knowing and experiencing God's love within the family of God has the power to change the life and destiny of every person including the fatherless. Romans 8:32 says He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? With God as the Heavenly Father, every orphan and fatherless child can always run to Him and receive an answer to every need.

Childinfo dot org estimated that there were 18.5 million orphans 0-17 years old in the world as of 2007. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says there were 123,000 children in the United States who are waiting to be adopted in September 2008.

God is Looking for People Who Will Help Care for the Fatherless

How can the fatherless know about the Heavenly Father's love? God is looking for people to do this very important calling. Isaiah 1:17 says learn to do right! ... Defend the cause of the fatherless. James 1:27 also wrote Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress ... God cannot do it without people. He is commanding us to defend the cause of the fatherless, to look after the orphans in this world.

There are many ways how we can help care for the orphans. We could pray for them, speak for them, teach or mentor some, give them support and those who support them, be a foster parent, or better yet adopt a child into your family.

An Inspiring Testimony of an Earthly Father to the Fatherless

The first inspiring story is from the book One Million Arrows by Julie Ferwerda. Julie shared in her book of this earthly father to the fatherless, a missionary and church planter who had the passion of helping the orphans and abandoned children for the cause of Christ. A man known as "Papa" to many thousands throughout India, Mullanakuzhiyil Abraham Thomas, began rescuing orphaned children off the streets of India in 1978. He raised them in what he called "Hope Homes". There they experience family love and belonging, receive quality education, and the offer of training to become disciples and servants of Christ.

His passion sprung forth from this verse found in Psalm 127:3-5: Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

God gave him the vision that the many broken and unwanted children he saw in the streets, gutters and train stations of India, if they are to become a heritage and a reward, must become arrows in the hands of Jesus. To do this, he resolved to gather them, sharpen them with education and faith and launch them like arrows back to the world to share the redeeming work of God as exemplified in their own lives.

After 20 years, more than 16,000 orphaned and abandoned children have been gathered and restored. At least two-thirds of them committed their lives to the work of Christ as pastors, evangelists, teachers and medical professionals. The others have become educated professionals and leaders who are also spreading the Good News of God's love wherever their feet takes them. All done with much prayer and God's provision.

Please visit OneMillionArrows.Com to learn more about Papa and getting involved in his vision of orphan care, as well as resources for family growth and parenting world changers.

An Inspiring Song - Father of the Fatherless

Lastly, I pray that you would be blessed by this song Father of the Fatherless and the short testimony by Jason Upton about his life as an adopted orphan and how adoption and knowing Jesus made things beautiful in his life.