Daddy is Usually the One Who Leaves
In the majority of cases, it is the father who is taken from the children through divorce. Our society has greatly changed its opinion about the importance of fatherhood in the past few decades.
In movies and television programs fathers are continually portrayed as the weaker and, often, the incompetent parent. Many prominent women in our society have chosen to have children by themselves with the role of father seen only as sperm donor.
Daddy or Sperm Donor?
Single moms have become the norm in our culture today. Fathers are often seen as the “non-essential” parent, the one who sees his children on weekends or holidays. His role many times is reduced to entertaining and spending hours with his children trying to win their affection and loyalty.
In her book Second Chances, Judith S. Wallerstein states, “Children do not dismiss their fathers just because there has been a divorce. Indeed, it is the children of divorce who taught us very early that to be separated from their father was intolerable… They cry for their daddies, be they good, bad or indifferent daddies. I have been deeply struck by the distress children of every age suffer at loosing their fathers.”
God designed a family to include two parents for a reason. Each parent contributes unique and vital elements to the development of the child. Fathers are especially critical to the identity and maturation of children. The majority of first divorces in our country occur when the first child is reaching puberty, just when the maturing role of the father becomes most critical. No wonder the enemy is working hard to remove the father from the home and from the lives of his children.
Dr. Wallerstein further shares, “At the ten-year mark, over two thirds of children in our study have poor relationships with their fathers, including fathers who were estranged and those who visited regularly… One of our sadder findings is that half the children whose mothers remarried said that they do not feel welcome in the new family.”
Fathers, you are not the expendable parent. You are essential to the lives of your children. Your children see what their heavenly Father is like by watching you. Jesus said, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” Men, whether you realize it or not, that is exactly what your life says to your children.
No matter what our society is preaching today, we must know God’s heart in this matter. As the Body of Christ, we must work harder to help reconcile, heal and strengthen marriages. We must endeavor to keep both mother and father in the home.
The last verses of the Old Testament give us the promise, “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of great and terrible day of the Lord. And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the fathers to their children, lest I come and smite the land with a curse.” In Luke 1:17, it is said of John the Baptist, “And it is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Today, as we prepare for the second coming of the Lord, the spirit of Elijah is once again being released throughout the earth to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Perhaps there has never been a time in history when that anointing has been so needed. Fathers, we encourage you to invest in the lives of your children.
Next to your wife, nothing should be more important or more worthy of your time than your children, - not job, career, or hobbies. Every child desires a deep relationship with his or her father. No matter what the age of your child or the distance there may be between you, God wants you to be effective in the life of that child.
Let the relationship begin to be restored through prayer. The Lord will direct you and lead you in your powerful role as mentor and leader to your children. May your child never have to ask, “Daddy where are you?”
Mike and Marilyn Phillipps’ marriage was miraculously restored by Jesus, and their three children, who had been deeply wounded, have all been healed and are serving the Lord. Through their years of restoration, the Lord taught their family the importance of the role of father in the destiny of his children.
Please click here to give us feedback about this article.
|
Designed and Delivered by
