I rarely read syndicated columns, however, the title of today’s column by Cynthia M. Allen caught my eye, “It’s time for America to reclaim Fatherhood.”  But it was the above statistic, repeated in her column, which especially impacted me this Father’s Day.  It isn’t that the statistic is surprising.  We have all heard statistics like this one.  And, sadly, we are all becoming desensitized to such statistics.  However, when you really stop to think about this reality—one of out of every three children growing up in a biological-father-absent home—it is deeply disturbing on a number of levels.

How much agreement I share with Allen on the solutions for this destructive reality, I cannot say.  But I certainly agree with her statement that the answer is not found “through a litany of federal social programs.”  And I heartily agree with her conclusion, “The connection is incontrovertible; effective long-term solutions must seek ways to reclaim and reinforce the value and necessity of fatherhood in a healthy society.”

As a follower of Christ, I would go one step further and say that the church needs to step-up when it comes to making more fully devoted followers of Jesus of our men.  For, more than any other factor, it is as men seek to walk in submission to and for the glory of our heavenly Father, that we grow into the fathers we are called to be.  The call, then, on this Father’s Day, is a simple one:  Church—reclaim fatherhood by modeling and teaching what a Godly man looks like; Men—strive daily to walk in growing obedience to the Word—to the glory of God the Father!