It’s Fathers Day, and I’d like to use this opportunity to celebrate all Dads and Dads to be.

So what roles do fathers have in a society where one in every four households is headed by a single mother?

It’s very easy to discount the role of fathers in today’s world. Women seem to have mastered their game so well over the last few years that one could easily assume that a father’s role has become somewhat extinct.

But the truth is we need fathers, not just in words but deeds.

A report published by UK Charity Addaction revealed that children from fatherless homes are 76.4 % more likely to engage in crime. Also, a special report by the US Department of Justice revealed that 70% of all youths in prison come from fatherless homes. This shows that a father’s role is more important than we often admit.

Children will, of course, need their mother’s attention a lot more during their early years, but as they grow older and become more independent, the role and presence of the father in the home becomes more crucial, particularly if he has sons. A father’s presence in the home brings stability, and boys need to see their father taking up his leadership role and responsibilities in the home to have an identity and a sense of direction.

Sadly, through no fault of their own, many young men have no one to call “Dad” and, in their quest for a father-son relationship, have ended up in the hands of those who take advantage of their need for validation. Having grown up without a father or a father figure in their life, many men have found themselves unable to function in their role as fathers to their children, which is why we need fathers.

Admittedly, not everyone has a father, and God understands that too, and He makes provisions for that, but the point here is no child should have to suffer for what they have no control over.

Peradventure, you’re a father that’s always asking your children to go to their mother when there’s a need to be met. You may just be denying yourself the opportunity to bond with your children emotionally because when they grow up, they’ll be going to whoever has always been there for them.

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And even if your wife’s doing a great job raising the kids, don’t leave it all to her. You need to rise to your responsibilities in the home as a man, lest your sons take after you. So, model the life of Christ before them, in and outside the home, and ensure that you’re actively pursuing God’s purpose for your life.                                                                   

Sadly, men, who haven’t discovered their God-given purpose by the time their children leave home, often find themselves at the mercy of others, mainly if their spouse is no more. Of course, some will use the opportunity to do what they weren’t able to do when their children were much younger. Still, some men tend to get into a “fix” during this period, unfortunately, because the devil is a master at finding work for idle hands.

So, find your purpose and start working on it so you don’t become a project for the enemy in your latter years, but more importantly, that you may become who God has called you to be.

But don’t wait to have a family to start putting things in place. Start now! Exert yourself: spend time praying and in the word of God because you’ll need to have enough capacity in your spirit to feed those whom God will put under your watch.

Perhaps you’re a single mother raising boys; please ensure that your sons get to spend quality time with men, godly men: men who can impart and mentor them. This is because sons need a father or a father figure in their life, the same way a girl needs a mother or a mother figure in hers.

Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. John 5:19 (NIV)

Even though Jesus was referring to Himself in this passage, the same principle can also be applied in our day-boys need to spend quality time with their fathers. And if the father is no longer in the picture with godly men, because they’ll only be able to do when they grow up what they’ve seen their father or a father figure do.