“For the Father Himself loves you…” (Jn 16:27).
Can we say that the whole human race had become Fatherless in the Fall? I think so! There was a Father, of course, like the prodigal son had a father, but we had fled the home. Modern society’s problem today is the opposite. The National Fatherhood Initiative writes, “According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 19.7 million children, more than 1 in 4, live without a father in the home.” David Blankenhorn wrote in his book, Fatherless America, “Over the past two hundred years, fatherhood has lost, in full or in part, each of its four traditional roles: irreplaceable caregiver, moral educator, head of family, and family breadwinner.”
Obviously the Great Love Story is that “the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world” (1 Jn 4:14) to woo us back. He waits, watches, ready to run to the sinner, covering him with kisses. Do we know fatherless children we can pray for, and love, at this time of the year? We may show them the way to our Father!