On Duty

We serve a God who is dedicated to restoration - to repair what is in a state of disrepair and to bring healing where there are wounds. Malachi 4 shows us a panoramic view of God's restorative desire:
4 "Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, With the statutes and judgments.
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
6 And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse."

Our Heavenly Father has come to bridge the gap, to bring people through Himself, and He loved us so much that He was willing to send His only Son in order that we might be in right relationship with God in salvation.  The relationship was severed by sin, but we can know the One who has come to repair it. Jesus, who is now alive and at work as our Savior, is the reconciler: in our lives individually, as well as our families, and our churches and communities - we can trust Him to express His love through those He has redeemed.

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In Psalm 68, we find an expression of the goodness of God, our loving Father, who can fill the voids that arise in a fallen world. We can read:
4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Extol Him who rides on the clouds, By His name Yah, And rejoice before Him.
5 A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation.
6 God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; But the rebellious dwell in a dry land.

Southwood High School in Louisiana had a problem recently - students were acting so unruly that there were 23 arrests in just 3 days related to fighting, according to a CBSNews.com report.  So, a group of fathers decided things had to change. The article says:

They formed Dads on Duty — a group of about 40 dads who take shifts spending time at the school in Shreveport, Louisiana, greeting students in the morning and helping maintain a positive environment for learning, rather than fighting.

Since their arrival on the scene - no incidents of fighting as of last Friday.  The fathers' presence has apparently made a huge difference. Michael LaFitte, who launched the group, said, "We're dads. We decided the best people who can take care of our kids are who? Are us..."  The dads keep showing up and for some become a fatherly influence. One of the quotes from the article is: "Because not everybody has a father figure at home – or a male, period, in their life. So just to be here makes a big difference..."  CBS stated that the school is a happier place, reporting: "...it's that perfect mix of tough love and gentle ribbing that dads do so well that has helped transform this school."

KTBS Television reports that:

Principal Kim Pendleton says that the students love having the dads around. Many of the dads are people they go to church with or live down the street from. Pendleton hopes even more parents can get involved.

We see here a group consisting of dozens of dads who are living out the concept of fatherhood in a greater scope than only in their own homes.  Film producer Stephen Kendrick and his brothers recently released a documentary about the power of fatherhood, called, Show Me the Father.  In a piece at Crosswalk.com, Michael Foust quotes Stephen as saying, "Fatherhood on Earth was created out of the Fatherhood of God," adding, "And He did not create it to replace Him. [Instead,] he created it to represent and then introduce Him to everybody."  The presence of a father, a role created by God, can be indelible and effective in impacting the lives of his children.

Remembering that God, our Heavenly Father, has instituted that role, means that fathers can rely on the power of the Lord to make a significant mark on the lives of not only their children, but to bring the reality of God into various spheres of influence.  It is not surprising that the principal of the school in Shreveport noted that at least some of the dads are from the local church. 

In a broken world, as Stephen Kendrick notes, we can rely on God's power to bring strength and stability; he said that the stories they have placed in the movie, Show Me the Father, "...reveal that in the midst of all of our human brokenness, and even with dysfunctional fathers, God still shines as the perfect Father that we all long for and need."  We can depend on the Spirit to open doors and reveal opportunities to demonstrate Godly character.