Both hopes and fears can be traced to the position and attitude towards fathers. The family legacy as our inheritance is transferred from fathers to sons. Dr. Thomas Smail in his epic book entitled The Forgotten Father sums up this dilemma in two sentences: “Mothers tend to promote the fulfillment of their sons from behind; fathers tend to require the obedience of their sons from above! The first kind of love ministers to the needs of the beloved; the second kind dethrones the one it loves and presses him into its own service.” (p. 12). Both fathers and mothers are necessary. We need the push and reinforcement that comes from mothers, but we also need the upward pull to be elevated beyond status-quo living that fathers encourage. He speaks of obedience as the key since the father establishes the parameters and laws within which his children are to function. If lawlessness is to abound, as it is today, it is the result of the rules of fathers being violated. When boundaries are established the fear is the loss of freedom. Yet true freedom can never be experienced unless there are rules of engagement protecting one person’s freedom from invasions caused by the freewheeling and reckless lives of others. 

When the father is removed from his rightful and God given position, society experiences the feminization of men and women becoming masculine. The distinctions were established by God as Father and the order was to be preserved throughout future generations.

In the beginning there existed the eternal relationship of Father and Son. The first Person of the Godhead is Father. His will is to be done if His Kingdom is to be established on earth as it is in Heaven. It is the will of the Father that is carried forth through the Son empowered by the Holy Spirit. This serves as a protype of what God intends relationally on the earth. As fathers who receive their assignment and position from the heavenly Father directs sons to walk in the same path, peace and harmony are established on the earth. 

Godlessness and fatherlessness are parallels. Christ came to make God known as Father. He went so far was to share His position as the only Begotten Son with us. The prayer that He taught His disciples began with “Our Father, which art in Heaven.” The estrangement between God as Father and His creation culminated into the creature attempting to rise in defiance and competition towards their Creator! How many biological sons today despise the directives of their fathers? What a tragedy when they are competing rather than cooperating with God in what He initiated, using His resources along with all that He has to offer them against Him. This was not from the beginning, but rather, the result of the Fall and fallen humanity. 

There are some who may say that they love Jesus. Their problem is with His Father. They desire the work of the Holy Spirit. But God as Father is an archaic and out of touch with reality to them. They put forth efforts to divide the Father from the Son. Then there are those that may say that the love God. They just have trouble with His children. Jesus said to those who tried to separate Him from His father “that if you love Me, you will love My Father also.” He also stated, “Me and My Father are One” His work in the last days is to restore fathers to sons and sons to fathers; to mend the breach between the two. There are many who may have forgotten Father but Father has never forgotten you and will never forget you. Know the heart of Father expressed through His Son.