Stress Test Devotional May 18
May 18, 2024
WEEK 6 | JAMES,
THE BROTHER OF JESUS
We cannot be certain because it involves an argument from
silence, but it seems likely that Jesus' father, Joseph, died when
he was a teenager. Were Joseph to have been alive, it would be
difficult to imagine him not being mentioned at all or referenced
a single time after the family visit to Jerusalem when Jesus was
twelve. If this surmise is correct, then it helps us today with
absent father syndrome.
A large number of American children are born to single moms or
go through divorce. Many have limited or no time with their
fathers. A significant number carry this wound around into
adulthood. But the church can respond to this need. Men's
ministry and community life can provide encouragement and
connection, with substitute father figures who can mentor and
befriend, living out the truth that our Heavenly Father wants
everyone to know his parental love and support.
Do you know anyone with a father wound?
Are you supporting someone in prayer or in person who has little parental presence?
