A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God
in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families (Psalm 68:5,6).
In the days around Fathers Day my thoughts turn to those who
have lost their dads, or even worse, those who never had a proper father figure
in their lives. I wrote on Day 161 about my dad and how his life was completely
changed (for the better) in the years between when my siblings were born and
when I was born. The Dad I grew up with was a different Dad than the one they
knew in their early years.
I imagine first century Christians must have taken comfort
in these verses. A commitment to follow Christ often brought with it expulsion from
one’s family. What did Jesus say? Everyone who has left houses or brothers
or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will
receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life (Matthew 19:29).
Today’s verse reminds us that God fills the holes in our
lives. If someone never had a good dad, or if his father passed away before he
was ready to say, Goodbye, God is there to fill that empty space. If a woman
has no husband, for whatever reason, whether he left, or died, or she has just
never married, God is there for her, ready to come to her defense and supply
her needs. God even has a family ready and waiting for the orphan and the
lonely. In love he has predestined us for adoption (Ephesians 1:4,5). The church is our new family, the new children
for the people of God.
When we feel lost, there is a people and place for us.
TODAY’S MEDITATION
Consider what being part of
God’s family means.
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