Fatherless!

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling. Psalms 68:5

Our very great and powerful God takes it upon himself to be a father to the fatherless and a defender of widows. Essentially, here’s the bottom line: children need a father and a wife needs her husband. These are God-given, God-glorifying essential roles. One of the most horrific warnings God ever gives his people is in Exodus 22:24 where he warns those who take advantage of the widow and the fatherless. The warning is this: “I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.” Ouch. There are countless verses that express God’s heart for the widow and the fatherless. These people are missing a protective, life-giving blessing in their lives.

Now here is where it gets sad. Today, many women are widows and many children fatherless not because their husbands and fathers have died, but because they have abdicated their responsibility to lead, provide, nourish and love in a God-given way. Guys, many of us have not been man enough to love our wives the way that Christ loved his church and to love our children and be there for them in the way that they needed us. Men are swallowed up by the diaspora. If not, then they spend their days and nights drinking themselves into a stupor. If not, they are abusing and raping their wives and children, who fear for their lives and detest their husbands and fathers. Enough! Let’s be men, real men! Be the kind of man that a woman wants to be with and submit to and the kind of dad who is his sons’ superhero and his daughters’ knight in shining armour. No more widows! No longer shall anyone be called fatherless!

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Pure religion

<blockquote>17 Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. 23 Your ruler