God's Fatherhood is a mystery to all of us, but it must be inexplicable to those who have never had the selfless love of a father, and have yearned to fill that hole, however possible.
We are wired to be fathered and it's human fatherhood that gives us a tiny glimpse of what our Heavenly Father is to us. No one is perfect, but it falls to the dads to model the love, mercy and justice of God to their children. Without this earthly model, a child is left with only part of the picture of the goodness and greatness of Our Father in Heaven.
No wonder satan has an agenda against fatherhood. No wonder he seeks to tempt men away from the Sacrament of Matrimony that binds spouses to each other and provides the best place for the nurturing of children. No wonder he blinds men to the Grace and dignity of Marriage and the raising of children, and tempts them to selfishness and sexual sin. He knows that the family will defeat him, and that fathers are the most influential in building a deep and abiding faith in their children. Mom tells you to say your prayers, work hard, be mannerly and treat people well, but dad shows you. He is the one that the children watch to see if they really have to do all that mom says.
I am reading a book called "It Was Me All Along" by Andie Mitchell. It's the story of a girl who, when she was little, saw the devolution of her family, in large part because of her father's alcoholism, and how she came to use food to fill the deep need that she had for wholeness. She developed a relationship with food, in an effort to find the comfort of family. I am reading this and thinking about how many children must be going through this, and then this evening I came across this video, and it just broke my heart.
We're all the sum of the Father's love for us, but we are only children, that can only respond to what we are given. How it must break His heart to see His little ones led to despair because they have no one to hold them, teach them, and love them unconditionally.
We are called to be merciful as the Father is merciful, but someone has to show the children the Mercy of The Father.
