HOW CAN I EXPERIENCE HGEALING AND RECOVERY AFTER AN ABORTION?

 

GotQuestions.org: How can I experience healing and recovery after an abortion?

  Abortion healing and recovery is possible. Having an abortion and regretting it later is a common experience felt by women. While what has been done cannot be undone, you can experience healing and recovery after an abortion. The God of all comfort and healing is more than able to ease the sorrow and pain of an abortion. He can restore you to life and joy.
  An unwanted pregnancy can be a frightening experience for someone who is not financially, emotionally, or physically prepared for such a responsibility. Perhaps you are one of the many women and teenage girls who are scared, confused, and desperate. In your search for answers, perhaps you were fooled into believing that your unborn child was an expendable “lump of tissue,” not really a pre-born human being. Often the realization of the truth comes later, in the form of post-abortion stress syndrome, guilt, and depression. This is where abortion healing and recovery is essential.
  There is good news for anyone who has had an abortion, and that is that God offers forgiveness to anyone who asks for it. Abortion healing and abortion recovery begin with accepting that forgiveness. Romans 3:22 says, “We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done.” It is never too late to come to God for healing. There is nothing we can do that is so bad that it is unforgivable. God offers this forgiveness, through Christ, and with it He offers peace of mind and heart. Abortion recovery is yours if you will only receive it by putting your faith in Jesus, allowing Him permanent residence and authority in your life.
  Perhaps you are already a Christian, yet you decided to have an abortion, perhaps out of fear of how you would be perceived by the Christian community. Even if you understood how God feels about abortion, you may have felt, out of desperation, that you must get rid of the “evidence.” Please understand that abortion recovery is available. God is ready to offer forgiveness, redemption, healing, and restoration. Yes, having an abortion was wrong; it was the taking of a life, but it is not unforgivable. The Bible says that there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1), and so, when we confess our sins to Him, He freely forgives (1 John 1:9). This is not because we deserve forgiveness but because of the loving nature of our Lord.
  When you realize the repercussions of having an abortion, you may find it difficult to forgive yourself. But God does not want us to live with perpetual guilt; He wants us to learn from our mistakes and use them to His advantage, as well as our own. Abortion healing and recovery will provide freedom from guilt. It will require a lot of prayer, which is simply conversation with God. This and studying the Bible help us get to know God better so that we can trust Him to heal us and be better equipped to do His work. Instead of dwelling on your choice to have an abortion, be encouraged to use your experience to help others. You may need to seek Christian counseling to help get through the experience. But through the healing process, if you trust in the Lord, you will be stronger and more spiritually mature. You can experience abortion healing and abortion recovery! You will have gone through an experience that God is able to use to strengthen your character and prepare you for ministering to others.
  If you are looking for abortion healing or abortion recovery, please contact If Not For Grace Ministries (www.infg.org) for free resources and counseling.

IF ABORTED B ABIES GO TO HEAVEN, WHY IS ABORTION WERONG?

GotQuestions.org: If aborted babies go to heaven, why is abortion wrong?

  We who defend the sanctity of life sometimes face questions similar to this: “Why do you say abortion is wrong, if babies go to heaven when they die?” That question often has a follow-up: “Aborted children never have a chance to grow up and reject Jesus; thus, by your own reasoning, abortion fills heaven and keeps people out of hell. Isn’t that a good thing?”
  Considering abortion as mercifully sending babies to heaven is an invalid option for Christians for several reasons. First, if we believe that heaven and hell are real, then we have to believe that there is a God. And, if there’s a God, we need to care what He’s said on the subject of abortion. By that measure alone, we cannot justify killing the unborn, an action that God expressly forbids (Leviticus 20:1–5; 2 Kings 24:2–4). God commands us not to commit murder (Exodus 20:13), He knows the child before birth (Jeremiah 1:5), and, in the Mosaic Law, He prescribed punishment for killing an unborn child (Exodus 21:22–25). Abortion is never an act of mercy; it is always an act of shedding innocent blood (see Proverbs 6:16–17).
  So, the first reason that we reject the idea of a mercy-motivated abortion is fairly simple: because God said not to kill. Regardless of what else we may think, God told us that killing the innocent is wrong. Period. Just as with a parent-child relationship, the only thing we ultimately need to know is that the Father has said, “No.”
  The second reason that abortion cannot be justified as a merciful act is that we are not absolutely sure what happens to those who die before they are born. We have many good reasons to think they’ll be in heaven, but we don’t have explicit biblical proof. So we can’t definitively say that aborting a soul will rescue it from hell. We dare not take such an awful risk with the souls of other people.
  With both of those reasons in mind, we can pose a useful statement: “God didn’t just kill Cain before he sinned.” That fact doesn’t tell us exactly why we should not abort a child for mercy’s sake, but it does tell us that God does not see killing to prevent sin as a viable option.
  A third reason that we cannot justify abortion on the basis that it sends babies to heaven involves eternal rewards. An aborted child has been denied the chance to serve God in this life and gain rewards for heaven. A child killed in the womb is being denied the chance to honor God in this world and earn rewards in the world to come. The chance to serve God is one of the things abortion steals from a human being.
  Logically, the attitude that abortion is merciful in that it sends babies straight to heaven would lead us to kill all children, unborn or not. After all, if it really is “better” for them to be dead, then we should do them the favor of killing them and sending them to a better place. Anyone who takes seriously the idea that babies in the womb should be killed to send them to heaven would logically have to favor the killing of every single child who is—in his opinion—under the age of accountability. Following the same rationale, he’d also be inclined to kill other believers to prevent them from sinning any more before they get to heaven.
  Given that God is a God of logic, and given that He specifically tells us to protect the weak and innocent (Proverbs 31:8–9), to have children (Genesis 1:28), and to see them as a blessing (Psalm 127:4–5), we can’t justify abortion on any moral grounds whatsoever. Abortion is the murder of the unborn, and we can’t mitigate the heinous nature of the act by injecting some perverse sense of human “mercy” into the equation.

WHAT DOES GOD'S WORD SAY ABOUT CHILD SACRIFICE?

 

GotQuestions.org: What does the Bible say about child sacrifice?

  The horrific practice of child sacrifice has been committed throughout the world for thousands of years. Generally, the sacrifice of a child was intertwined with the worship of a pagan deity, often a fertility god. Worshipers sought to obtain a blessing from their god(s) or to confirm or complete a vow taken in the name of the god.
  Ancient Aztecs, Incas, and a few other peoples in South and Central America practiced child sacrifice. The same for the Druids of Europe. The city of Carthage in North Africa contains evidence of child sacrifice related to the worship of Ba’al Hammon, a god imported from Phoenicia. Many Roman writers refer to this barbaric act in Carthage.
  The Bible contains the heart-breaking tale of child sacrifice practiced in the name of Molech (also spelled Moloch or Molek), a god of the Ammonites. Molech worship was practiced by the Ammonites and Canaanites, who revered Molech as a protecting father figure. Images of Molech were made of bronze, and their outstretched arms were heated red-hot. Living children were then placed into the idol’s hands and died there or were rolled into a fire pit below. Some sources indicate a child might also be “passed through the fire” prior to the actual sacrifice in order to purify or baptize the child. Molech worship occurred in the Hinnom Valley near Jerusalem. Because of this, the valley became associated with the idea of Tophet, or hell (Isaiah 30:33; Jeremiah 19:12; Mark 9:45).
  God prohibited Israel from child sacrifice in general and Molech worship in particular. Leviticus 20:2-5 states, “Say to the Israelites: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing in Israel who sacrifices any of his children to Molek is to be put to death. The members of the community are to stone him. I myself will set my face against him and will cut him off from his people; for by sacrificing his children to Molek, he has defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name. If the members of the community close their eyes when that man sacrifices one of his children to Molek and if they fail to put him to death, I myself will set my face against him and his family and will cut them off from their people together with all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molek.’” Many other Old Testament passages affirm God’s zero-tolerance for child sacrifice.
  Sadly, King Solomon became involved in this horrendous practice, as recorded in 1 Kings 11:4-11, “As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD. . . . On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. . . . The LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the LORD’s command.”
  Later, the evil king Manassah offered his own son as a sacrifice (2 Kings 21:6), as did King Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28:1-4). The people of Judah participated in this crime against their own sons—a sin so “detestable” that God said it had never even crossed His mind (Jeremiah 32:35). Child sacrifice was one reason for the Babylonian captivity (verse 36).
  Some critics of the Bible point to the story of Abraham, who laid his son Isaac on an altar and prepared to sacrifice him as directed by God (Genesis 22:1-14). However, in this case, God was testing the obedience and faith of Abraham. God stopped him from actually following through and provided a ram as a substitute sacrifice.
  Today, child sacrifice is practiced throughout the world. There has been a resurgence of child sacrifice in Uganda. Witch doctors have been implicated in the mutilation and death of children who were killed in an effort to bring good fortune and wealth to those willing to pay for it. There is also a correlation between child sacrifice and modern-day abortion. Unprecedented numbers of children have been “sacrificed” at the hands of abortionists for the sake of convenience, immorality, or pride. Hundreds of thousands of babies have been killed so that their parents can maintain a certain lifestyle. God hates “hands that shed innocent blood” (Proverbs 6:17), and we can be sure that God will judge this horrendous sin.

IS ABORTION MURDER?

 

GotQuestions.org: Is abortion murder?

The subject of abortion is perhaps one of the most highly charged issues of our day. Finding an honest answer to the question “is abortion murder?” takes courage for those who have performed abortions or have had abortions themselves. The Bible is clear about the fact that murder is wrong (Exodus 20:13). However, in some cases, the Bible does not forbid killing. Soldiers representing their country were expected to kill soldiers on the opposing side (Joshua 11:20). That is not murder. Animals were killed for food and for sacrifice (Exodus 24:5; Genesis 9:3–4). That is not murder either.

Murder is defined as “the unlawful, premeditated killing of one human being by another.” Murder is unlawful killing—that is, killing that is done by the judgment of one human being against another, for personal (rather than national) reasons. The Bible condemns murder repeatedly as a characteristic of a wicked society (Deuteronomy 5:17; Isaiah 1:21; Hosea 4:2; Matthew 5:21). Determining whether or not abortion is murder involves two considerations: first, whether or not a fetus in utero is actually a human being, and, second, if a fetus is a child, whether or not abortion can be rightly called murder since it is legal in most countries. If murder is unlawful killing, it would follow that a lawful killing would not be murder.

One reason murder is outlawed in many places is that it is unethical for one person to unilaterally decide the fate of another. Under the Old Testament Law, a murderer was not put to death unless there were multiple witnesses: “No person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness” (Numbers 35:30). In war, soldiers do not decide to kill for their own purposes; rather, they kill in the national interest—if they fight for an honorable nation, the national interest will be to protect innocent civilians from some threat. Abortion is different. Abortion is killing based on a mother’s unilateral judgment and choice. Such unprovoked killing of the defenseless is unethical and should define abortion as murder in any society—unless the fetus is not human. If the fetus is just a mass of impersonal tissue or something less than human, ending its life would not face the same ethical challenge and would not be considered murder.

So, is a fetus a human? Or is it something else? Biologically speaking, human life begins at conception. When the mother’s egg and the father’s sperm come together, they combine and create a new string of DNA that is personalized and totally unique. DNA is coded information, the blueprint for the new human’s growth and development. No more genetic material needs to be added; the zygote in the womb is as human as the mother in whose womb it dwells. The difference between a fetus and any one of us is one of age, location, and level of dependence. When a mother aborts the process of fetal development, she is destroying a unique life.

The Bible clearly points to conception as the beginning of human life. Samson said, “I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb” (Judges 16:17). He refers to his unborn self as having already been what God planned him to be—a Nazirite. David says, “You formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). Again, we see David referring to himself as a person in the womb. Then, he says, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them” (Psalm 139:16). David is saying that God had all of his days planned out for him while he was still in the womb. Again, this evidence points to personhood beginning at conception, rather than at the moment of birth. We see God had a similar plan for the life of the pre-born Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5).

The Bible considers a fetus to be an unborn child, a planned human being that God is forming from the moment of conception. This being the case, it doesn’t really matter what human jurisprudence says or how socially or politically acceptable abortion is. God’s law takes precedence. A mother who decides to abort her child is unilaterally making a decision to end another person’s life—and that is and always has been the definition of murder.

 

WORSHIP

 WORSHIP

Revelation [MKJV 2:2-5] I know your works and your labor and your patience, and how you cannot bear those who are evil. And you tried those pretending to be apostles, and are not, and have found them liars. And you have borne, and have patience, and for My name's sake you have labored and have not fainted. But I have against you that you left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and will remove your lampstand out of its place unless you repent.

  I like serving and feeling useful far better than being entertained any day! I have however learned that that zeal for entertainment or feeling useful may keep us from first love.

  When involved in serving God we can slowly become more involved in enjoyable service than love. Marriage is a perfect example of this at times. I had done this at times. It’s possible to love marriage without Biblically loving the one you’re married to. It’s possible to love churchiness and not Biblically love the Lord of church.

  How easy it is to enmesh one’s self in giving more thought and time, attitude, to happy service of people’s needs! . . . and unremarkably slip away from true Romans 12:1-3 worship of God.

  Thankfully, He gives call and allowance to return to Him.  

EBB4

From Albert Barnes notes on the Bible: Revelation 2:4

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee - Notwithstanding this general commendation, there are things which I cannot approve.

Because thou hast left thy first love - Thou hast “remitted” (ἀφῆκας aphēkas) or let down thy early love; that is, it is less glowing and ardent than it was at first. The love here referred to is evidently love to the Saviour; and the idea is, that, as a church, they had less of this than formerly characterized them. In this respect they were in a state of declension; and, though they still maintained the doctrines of His religion, and opposed the advocates of error, they showed less ardor of affection toward Him directly than they had formerly done.

VERSES ABOUT MOTHERHOOD

 GotQuestions.org: What are some Bible verses about mothers? 

Proverbs 31:26-27
She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Psalm 127:3
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.

Exodus 20:12
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

Isaiah 66:13
As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

Isaiah 49:15
Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.

Proverbs 6:20
My son, keep your father's commandment, and forsake not your mother's teaching.

Ephesians 6:2
“Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise),

2 Timothy 1:5
I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.

Leviticus 19:3
Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.

Proverbs 1:8-9
Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.

Proverbs 31:28
Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:

Ephesians 6:1-3
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”

Deuteronomy 5:16
Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

Proverbs 29:15
The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.

Proverbs 10:1
The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7
And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Titus 2:3-5
Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

Proverbs 1:8
Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching,

Proverbs 23:25
Let your father and mother be glad; let her who bore you rejoice.

THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD

 

Fatherhood of God

General references from Nave’s Topical Bible

Exo_4:22; Deu_14:1; Deu_32:5-6; 2Sa_7:14; 1Ch_28:6; 1Ch_29:10; Psa_68:5; Psa_89:26; Isa_1:2; Isa_8:18; Isa_9:6; Isa_63:16; Isa_64:8; Jer_3:19; Hos_1:10; Hos_11:1; Mat_3:17; Mat_5:45; Mat_6:4; Mat_6:6; Mat_6:8-9; Luk_11:2; Mat_7:11; Mat_10:20; Mat_10:29; Mat_10:32-33; Mat_11:25-27; Mat_12:50; Mat_13:43; Mat_15:13; Mat_16:17; Mat_16:27; Mat_18:10; Mat_18:14; Mat_18:19; Mat_20:23; Mat_26:29; Mat_26:39; Mat_26:42; Mar_8:38; Mar_11:25-26; Mar_13:32; Luk_2:49; Luk_10:21-22; Luk_11:13; Luk_22:29; Luk_23:46; Luk_24:49; Joh_1:14; Joh_1:18; Joh_2:16; Joh_4:21; Joh_4:23; Joh_5:17-23; Joh_5:36-37; Joh_5:43; Joh_6:27; Joh_6:32; Joh_6:44-46; Joh_8:19; Joh_8:27; Joh_8:38; Joh_8:41-42; Joh_8:49; Joh_10:15; Joh_10:29-30; Joh_10:32-33; Joh_10:36-38; Joh_12:26-28; Joh_12:50; Joh_13:3; Joh_14:2; Joh_14:6-13; Joh_14:16; Joh_14:20-21; Joh_14:23-24; Joh_14:26; Joh_14:31; Joh_15:8-10; Joh_15:16; Joh_15:23-24; Joh_15:26; Joh_16:3; Joh_16:10; Joh_16:15; Joh_16:23; Joh_16:25-28; Joh_17:1; Joh_17:5; Joh_17:11; Joh_17:21; Joh_17:24; Joh_20:17; Joh_20:21; Act_1:4; Act_2:33; Rom_1:3-4; Rom_1:7; 1Co_1:3; Gal_1:3; Eph_1:2; Eph_6:23; Php_1:2; Col_1:2; Tit_1:4; Rom_8:15; 1Co_8:6; 1Co_15:24; 2Co_1:3; 2Co_6:18; Gal_1:1; Gal_1:4; Gal_4:4-7; Eph_1:3; Eph_1:17; Eph_2:18; Eph_3:14; Eph_4:6; Eph_5:20; Col_1:3; Col_1:12; Col_2:2; Col_3:17; 1Th_1:1; 1Th_1:3; 1Th_3:11; 1Th_3:13; 2Th_1:1-2; 2Th_2:16; Heb_1:5-6; Heb_12:9; Jas_1:17; Jas_1:27; Jas_3:9; 1Pe_1:2-3; 1Pe_1:17; 1Jn_1:2; 1Jn_2:1; 1Jn_2:13; 1Jn_2:15; 1Jn_2:22-24; 1Jn_3:1; 1Jn_4:14; 2Jn_1:3-4; 2Jn_1:9; Jud_1:1; Rev_1:5-6; Rev_3:5; Rev_14:1

  Whether you look up all the above verses or nor, there obviously is an impressive number of Bible references on the fatherhood of God. Also take note that there are no verses on “The motherhood of god.”

EBB4

BIBLE VERSES ABOUT FATHERS

 

GotQuestions.org: What are some Bible verses about fathers?        Psalm 103:13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Colossians 3:21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.

Proverbs 3:11-12 My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Malachi 4:6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.

Proverbs 23:24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.

Psalm 127:3-5 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Proverbs 23:22 Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.

Joshua 24:15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Proverbs 14:26 In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.

Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

Proverbs 20:7 The righteous who walks in his integrity— blessed are his children after him!

Hebrews 12:7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

Deuteronomy 1:29-31 Then I said to you, ‘Do not be in dread or afraid of them. The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.’

Matthew 7:9-11 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Matthew 23:9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.

3 John 1:4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

WITHOUT FATHERS, WE'REA SINKING SHIP

 FATHERHOOD FILE

Without fathers, we're a sinking ship       June 19, 2022, Greg Laurie

Fathers play an important role in our society and more than ever we need dads to step up

More than 57% of African American families experience fatherlessness, according to Census data+

We are all still reeling from the tragic murder of 19 beautiful children in Uvalde, Texas earlier this month, and wondering how something this incomprehensible could happen. 

Some are trying to bring more restrictions to gun ownership or even ban guns outright, while others point an accusing finger at local law enforcement and wonder why they did not respond more quickly. Others suggest we harden the targets with more security officers at schools. But none of those options genuinely get to the heart of the problem.

Have we considered the often-ignored reality that the absence of fathers causes a breakdown of the family?

AMERICA'S CRISIS IS A LACK OF FATHERS

In an article from the Heritage Foundation published in 2018 after the Parkland, Florida shooting there was this observation: "‘Among the 25 most-cited school shooters since Columbine, 75% were reared in broken homes.’ Psychologist Dr. Peter Langman, a pre-eminent expert on school shooters, found that most came from incredibly broken homes of not just divorce and separation, but also infidelity, substance abuse, criminal behavior, domestic violence, and child abuse."

Salvador Ramos, the 18-year-old shooter responsible for the deaths of all those precious children in Texas, had no relationship with his father. His mother lived out of state, and he had a strained relationship with his grandmother, whom he also shot. All of them had criminal records as well. Ramos’s own father said in an interview, "He would always say I didn’t love him."

We ignore this problem of the breakdown of the family at our peril.

One person said, "If you want to know what kind of father you were, don’t look at your children. Look at your grandchildren." Families, with both fathers and mothers doing their part, are our nation’s very foundation.

When my oldest son Christopher was a little boy, I bought him a toy tugboat. It was an unsinkable bath toy. We would try to hold it underwater in a pool, and it would always pop back to the surface.

When Christopher got older, I asked him if he wanted to sink that tugboat once and for all. So, I cut a little hole in the top and dropped a cherry bomb in it, much to my son’s delight. It was not dramatic, but the cherry bomb blew a hole in the tugboat. The unsinkable craft finally sunk slowly to the bottom of the pool.

If you want to sink something, blow a hole in the hull.

Eighty percent of teenagers admitted to psychiatric hospitals come from fatherless homes. Fatherless children are 100 to 200% more likely to have emotional and behavioral problems. A child from a fatherless home is 68% more likely to use drugs or alcohol, far more likely to become sexually active at an early age, and three times more likely to commit a violent crime.

Fathers who are there to raise their children are the true superheroes in our society.

Sixty-three percent of teenagers who attempt suicide come from fatherless homes. Seventy-one percent of children who don’t finish high school come from fatherless homes. Ninety percent of our homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes. Fatherless sons are 300% more likely to become incarcerated and stay in juvenile institutions.

Fatherless daughters who marry have a 92% higher divorce rate, and fatherless sons are 38% more likely to experience marital failure. Fatherless daughters are 53% more likely to marry as teenagers. Fatherless daughters are 111% more likely to have children as teenagers, and they are 164% more likely to have an out-of-wedlock birth. Eighty percent of all sitting in prison today grew up in fatherless homes.

Fathers are the missing piece in all of this.

In a time when cinematic ‘superheroes’ dominate the screen, it’s time to celebrate the often-overlooked heroes in our culture: Husbands who remain faithful to their spouses and honor the vow to stand by their mate "for better or for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish till death do them part" and fathers who are there to raise their children are the true superheroes.

We need more fathers to step up to the plate in our nation like never before. And even more, we need godly men.

The Bible says, "Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from Him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them" (Psalm 127:3-5).

The word "heritage" used in the passage can be translated as a "gift." Kids are not given to keep but to nurture. They need our example, but most importantly, they need us. The best resource you can spend on your children is time, and lots of it.