"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;" (Psalm
68:5-6a, NIV)
I
wonder if passages about the fatherless actually move us into a state of action
or passiveness. I don’t recall any of
these verses being memorized in today’s Sunday school, yet the Bible mentions
them repeatedly. Even the world
recognizes the gap in today’s families. An
alarming 90% of homeless and runaway
children are from fatherless homes (US.D.H.H.S.)
One such teen came into our lives
recently. Kingston was 17 years old and homeless. He never knew his father and after his mother
died when he was three he went to live with his grandmother. At 16 when his grandmother died he moved once
again, this time to live with his aunt. Physical
abuse entered the picture for Kingston
causing him to choose the streets. With
no family and never having a father figure, Kingston was desperate for love, acceptance,
and a place to live.
Late
one night he knocked on my door explaining his situation asking for help. Here began our journey of being a “Father to
the Fatherless”, not as one person or family but as an organization we came
alongside Kingston. Providing food, clothes, temporary housing until
a permanent solution was found. Within a
few weeks God opened a long-term living situation for Kingston with a family who is committed to
caring for him through the end of high school and the beginning of
college. God allowed us to see the truth
of His word come alive by setting the lonely into a family.
The
streets we serve are littered with young boys and girls like Kingston; fatherless and without a home. God is using Family Empowerment Centers to
give hope to the hopeless.
One
thing is certain, when I read about the fatherless I’ll remember when God
called us into action. Instead of being
statistically driven into reducing the numbers on earth; let’s be spirit lead
into increasing the numbers of the eternally grateful in Heaven.
