Many have heard the story of the Prodigal Son who obtained his inheritance and wasted it on profligate living only to realize the depravity of his condition, repent and return to his father’s house. I have recently come across a true story that reverses that Biblical story and yet follows the same pattern, except in this case the father left the family to pursue profligate living and ended up restored and living in his son’s home.
So often when I talk about fatherlessness in America with various people the issue of absenteeism always seems to surface. Where have all the fathers gone? They flew the coop. Leaving one’s family for one reason or the other always has a deleterious effect on wives and children. There is no family unit that is not dramatically affected by the absence of their father.
God designed families to have fathers. God designed men to take the role of head of household to provide to that household a presence that is irreplaceable. Ask any mother who is trying to raise her children without a father if she can be both mother and father to her children and she will emphatically say no! I don’t care what the social engineers try to present to us, men cannot become pregnant and women cannot be fathers emotionally, psychologically and spiritually to children and that’s just the way it is!
If you get an opportunity to listen to the podcasts and/or video interviews with the DeLisi crime family under the titles “Prodigal Father’s Journey Part One: The Downfall” and “Prodigal Father Returns Part Two: Restoration” you will appreciate the journey and process God allowed Ted Sr. and his children Ted Jr. and Gina walkthrough. From beginning to end, the story takes unusual and unbelievable turns. When given a choice by his wife to stop smoking pot or she would leave. Ted Sr. decided he liked smoking pot more than being a father. Ted Sr. became a pothead and terrible father, yet through a process of repentance and forgiveness Ted Sr. eventually became a restored son of God the Father. But, in the end, all the glory belongs to God for restoring this man’s life. As he began to walk in his calling and destiny as a true son of the Father he was transformed into a good father to his children. Remember we are living at the end of the age when God the Father is bringing the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Where do you find yourself in this process? Whether you are a father or a child, somewhere you were designed to participate, you just might not be aware of it yet.
Papa Tom
