What do you think of when you hear the word Father? That word has so many meanings today. Our families really don’t look the same anymore. Let’s face it, many kids are not growing up with their father.

Today 1 in 4 children under the age of 18 — a total of about 17.2 million — are being raised without a father and almost half 40% live below the poverty line.  (US Census Bureau, Household Relationship and Living Arrangements of Children Under 18 Years, by Age and Sex: 2016)

From Fathers.com:

More Data on the Extent of Fatherlessness

• An estimated 24.7 million children (33%) live absent their biological father.
  Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, “Living Arrangements of Children under 18 Years/1 and Marital Status of Parents by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin/2 and Selected Characteristics  of the Child for all Children 2010.” Table C3. Internet Release Date November, 2010.

• Of students in grades 1 through 12, 39 percent (17.7 million) live in homes absent their biological fathers.
  Source: Nord, Christine Winquist, and Jerry West. Fathers’ and Mothers’ Involvement in their Children’s Schools by Family Type and Resident Status. Table 1. (NCES 2001-032). Washington, DC: U.S. Dept of Education, National Center of Education Statistics, 2001.

• 57.6% of black children, 31.2% of Hispanic children, and 20.7% of white children are living absent their biological fathers.
  Source: Family Structure and Children’s Living Arrangements 2012. Current Population Report. U.S.  Census Bureau July 1, 2012.

• According to 72.2 % of the U.S. population, fatherlessness is the most significant family or social problem facing America.
  Source: National Center for Fathering, Fathering in America Poll, January, 1999.

There is an opportunity here. Every kid needs a male figure to look up to, to model, and learn from. We desperately need Spiritual Fathers for these kids.  We need men who will step up and step in to a child’s life to make a difference.  How will our sons learn honor and how to protect? How will our daughters learn how valuable they are?

Thank you Lord for providing for the fatherless kids, thank you Lord for the men who will step up and show our boys how to be men and our girls how to be women. And God please bless those men who do.

At that time the followers came to Jesus. They said, “Who is the greatest in the holy nation of heaven?” Jesus took a little child and put him among them. He said, “For sure, I tell you, unless you have a change of heart and become like a little child, you will not get into the holy nation of heaven. Whoever is without pride as this little child is the greatest in the holy nation of heaven. Whoever receives a little child because of Me receives Me. But whoever is the reason for one of these little children who believe in Me to fall into sin, it would be better for him to have a large rock put around his neck and to be thrown into the sea. – Matthew 18:1-6 NLV

16 Inspirational Father’s Day Quotes 

1. “A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society.” – Billy Graham
2. “”The heart of a father is the masterpiece of nature.” – Antoine-François Prévost
3. “To be a father requires patience, love and giving up the ‘all about me’ attitude.” Catherine Pulsifer
4. “I encourage all fathers to focus on the intangibles, because those are the gifts that make the difference.” Asha Patrick
5. “Becoming a good father is not automatic – it takes time and effort. We must be willing to invest in this job – our most important, second to being a husband – as any other career we might pursue.” Dr. John C. Maxwell
6. “I have repeatedly stated and emphatically declared that the key to the restoration and preservation of a sane and healthy society is the salvaging of the male, especially as a responsible father.” Myles Munroe
7. “Any man can be a Father it takes someone special to be a Dad.”  – Author Unknown
8. “When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.” – Mark Twain
9. “By profession I am a soldier and take pride in that fact. But I am prouder – infinitely prouder — to be a father. A soldier destroys in order to build; the father only builds, never destroys.” – Douglas MacArthur
10. “It takes a strong man to accept somebody else’s children and step up to the plate another man left on the table.” – Ray Johnson
11. “I want to congratulate all the men out there who are working diligently to be good fathers whether they are stepfathers, or biological fathers, or just spiritual fathers.” – TD Jakes
12. “I have repeatedly stated and emphatically declared that the key to the restoration and preservation of a sane and healthy society is the salvaging of the male, especially as a responsible father.” – Myles Munroe
13. “The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.” -Psalm 103:13 (NLT)
14. “When you’re young, you think your dad is Superman. Then you grow up, and you realize he’s just a regular guy who wears a cape.” – Dave Atell
15. “It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father.” – Pope John XXIII
16. The father of godly children has cause for joy. What a pleasure to have children who are wise.” – Proverbs 23:24 (NLT)