A Family For The Lonely

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing…  Ps 68:5-6 (NIV)

The word “fatherless” strikes a chord with many people in our generation. You may have even felt that emotional sinking feeling as you just read the word. “Fatherless” may mean different things to different people. Some have never known their fathers. Many were abandoned mid-stream by their fathers.  Multitudes wish they never knew the father they had. 

The story of God’s entire Old Covenant dealings with man closes with Malachi’s reference to the curse that results from a failure to “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers” (Mal. 4:6). Even Paul told the Corinthians “you do not have many fathers” (I Cor.4:15). God’s most prominent revelation to us is through the relationship of Father and Son. It is no coincidence that fatherhood is so deeply under attack, undermined at every point. In our present society, the overcoming, victorious soldiers of Jesus Christ (whom we may call true “fathers”) are somewhat of a rare breed. Although a present pain, the lack of true fathers is nothing new.

But, as with any challenge, our heavenly Father has already created a solution. He, Himself, is a “father to the fatherless and a defender of widows.” He, Himself, comes to our direct aid through the love He pours into our hearts via our relationship with Him. He has promised to always be with us and never leave us. He is a loving and compassionate Father who knows the struggles we face. He has not left us comfortless. He is our True Father, always watching over us.

The above scripture says He is our Father “in His holy dwelling.” The passage then says “God sets the lonely in families.” What a mighty thought! God does not leave the lonely in an abandoned place of desolation. He fulfills His role as Father, directly, but He also acts as our Father “in His holy dwelling.” His holy dwelling is His family. His family is His church. God sets the lonely in His family to allow others to make up for where our fathers left off. What an amazing God! “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” (Rom. 8:15, KJV). Every child who has been orphaned through abandonment or abuse at the hands of an earthly father need not be an orphan one moment longer! Our True Father offers the “Spirit of adoption” to draw us first to Himself, then into the fellowship of His family, the church. Again, what an amazing God! Who else could do this? No-one else. God, and God alone, is the Savior of our broken homes, for He lovingly adopts us and “sets the lonely in families.”

Remember, many of the births of children into a loving father’s arms were made possible because, at some point in that past family lineage, a man who was born fatherless faced the tide of opposition and pain and determined to follow the way of the Lord and “turn his heart toward his children.” Somewhere, a fatherless child decided that it would be different for his children. Somewhere, the pain, hurt, loneliness and sense of hopelessness was transformed into joy, healing, fellowship and eternal hope, because of an individual who turned the tide in his generation and sowed love and righteousness into his descendants through Christ. This is the Spirit of Jesus. The first man Adam sowed pain and discord, the second Man Adam (Jesus) sowed life and love.

In Christ, no longer are you the child of a selfish father, you are the privileged child of the Most High God! You are a prince or princess, robed in royalty and awaiting to rule and reign with Him in glory forever. You may have become fatherless, but in Christ, reckon yourself as a child of God and rise up to be the father or mother you never had. 

May each of us arise with Christ, break the curse of "fatherlessness", and help our Father God build a Family for the Lonely.