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By Pastor Randy Reid | Clanton First Assembly of God

Jesus said in Mark 3, “No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man.” Of course, the strong man to whom Jesus is referring is the man of a household who stands as the protector and defender of his home and family. The picture Jesus paints for us is that of a robber wanting to break into the home that is being guarded by a man ready to protect of his family from harm. The robber realizing the presence of a man guarding his house knows that if he is going to plumber the house he has to first deal with man protecting it. The robber is faced with the decision, either attack the house by binding the strong man, leave him be and move on to a home that is unprotected.

The scenario of the robber and the strong man is symbolic of what is occurring in our culture today. Our homes are under attack. Biblical family life is quickly become the exception instead of the norm. Families are more fractured then ever. The American culture we adults grew up in has degenerated into an almost unrecognizable way of life. Why? It is because the strong men of today’s home have been bound by a robber that has rendered him helpless and defenseless.

Make no mistake about it. Today’s family is under attack. It is being attacked by an enemy that hates the biblical family. The enemy is fully aware that the most effective way to infiltrate the home and destroy the family is by removing dad from the equation.

National Public Radio reports that 24.7 million children live without the presence of a physical father in the home. That means 1 in 4 children in America are raised in a fatherless home. The result is that 85% of youth who are currently in prison grew up in a fatherless home. Children from fatherless homes are twice as likely to drop out from school before graduating. Studies show that 44% of children living in a fatherless home live in poverty, compared to 12% of children living in a home with both the mother and father. About 40% of children in the United States are born to mothers who are not married. Where are the fathers? Where is the strong man of the house? He have been bound like weaklings, or chased off by an enemy who is free to have his way with their family.

The scriptures promise judgement on the neglectful father for leaving their family vulnerable to the robber. Paul told Timothy that if a man did not provide for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel (1 Timothy 5:8).

As we look to Father’s Day, may those of us who are blessed to be dads be not derelict in our duties to raise our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. Rather, may we stand at the threshold of our home, guarding against the intruder of our family, and declare that as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.