Psalm 103:13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
詩篇 103:13 父親怎樣憐憫他的兒女，耶和華也怎樣憐憫敬畏他的人！
The God we worship reveals Himself to us as a father. Accordingly, we address God as our Father in Heaven when we pray. This is why Satan’s first target is the father of each family. If the father is removed from a family or the role of the father is distorted, his children will have resentment not only towards their earthly father but also towards their Heavenly Father. And when the father is absent, the family often falls, leading to a crumbled society. National Fatherhood Initiative, a nonsectarian organization, states the following: “There is a father absence crisis in America. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 19.7 million children, more than 1 in 4, live without a father in the home. Consequently, there is a father factor in nearly all social ills facing America today.” No wonder author Cassie Carstens says, “Satan has come to earth. The world desperately needs a father.”
Our next generation longs for compassion from their fathers. Fathers, if we haven’t already done so, let us show compassion to our children as well as to the fatherless children around us! This is our show time, not our down time!
我們敬拜的上帝以父親的身份向我們顯明。因此，我們祈禱時稱上帝為天上的父。這就是為什麼撒但的首要目標是每個家庭的父親。如果父親被從家庭中除去或父親的形象受到扭曲，那麼他的孩子不僅會對他們的地上的父親，也對他們的天父充滿怨恨。而且當父親不見時，家庭通常很容易倒塌，以致社會也崩潰了。一個非宗派組織國家父親倡議（National Fatherhood Initiative）指出：“美國存在父親缺席的危機。根據美國人口普查局2017的數據，有1,970萬的兒童(超過四分之一)家裡沒有父親。因此，當今幾乎所有美國面臨的社會弊病都有父親因素 .” 難怪作家卡西·卡斯滕斯（Cassie Carstens）說：“撒旦已經來到人間。這個世界迫切需要一個父親。”
我們的下一代渴望他們的父親們的憐憫。父親們，讓我們憐憫我們的孩子以及我們周圍的無父親之孩子！這是我們的上場的時候(show time)，而不是我們的休息時間 (down time)！
