Poplar Springs Seventh-day Adventist^® School

Scripture: There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, 2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. Acts 10:1-2 (NKJV)

Observation: Cornelius was a Roman centurion, in charge of a 100 man company.  He was not Jewish, but had come to believe in God.  What is interesting is that not only was he a believer, but so did his entire household which included his wife and children, but also other relatives and even his servants as can be found throughout this chapter of Acts.  Ellen White writes: “Believing in God as the Creator of heaven and earth, Cornelius revered Him, acknowledged His authority, and sought His counsel in all the affairs of life. He was faithful to Jehovah in his home life and in his official duties. He had erected the altar of God in his home, for he dared not attempt to carry out his plans or to bear his responsibilities without the help of God”  (The Acts of the Apostles, p. 133).
    Because of His generosity and devout spirit, God sent His angel to tell him to send for Peter.  At the same time, God sent peter a vision which would teach him that God does not make racial or ethnic distinctions but offers His grace and salvation to all people.

The result of Peter’s visit to Cornelius’ household was that they were all baptized.

Application: The life of Cornelius is a powerful example of the results of the influence of a man in his house.  Ellen White describes him as, “a man of wealth and noble birth, and his position was one of trust and honor. A heathen by birth, training, and education, through contact with the Jews he had gained a knowledge of God, and he worshiped Him with a true heart, showing the sincerity of his faith by compassion to the poor. He was known far and near for his beneficence, and his righteous life made him of good repute among both Jews and Gentiles.   His influence was a blessing to all with whom he came in contact” (Ibid.) (Emphasis supplied).

Research has now shown how important it is that fathers spend time with their children, reading with and to them.  Those children, whose fathers read to them, have better language skills and therefore do better in school.

Fatherless children experience some of the greatest challenges of any children.  Here is just a sample of what the statistics show:
• Incarceration Rates. "Young men who grow up in homes without fathers are twice as likely to end up in jail as those who come from traditional two-parent families...those boys whose fathers were absent from the household had double the odds of being incarcerated -- even when other factors such as race, income, parent education and urban residence were held constant." (Cynthia Harper of the University of Pennsylvania and Sara S. McLanahan of Princeton University cited in "Father Absence and Youth Incarceration." Journal of Research on Adolescence 14 (September 2004): 369-397.)
• Suicide. 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes (Source: What Can the Federal Government Do To Decrease Crime and Revitalize Communities? - see link below)
• Behavioral Disorders. 85% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes (Source: What Can the Federal Government Do To Decrease Crime and Revitalize Communities? - see link below)
• High School Dropouts. 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes (Source: What Can the Federal Government Do To Decrease Crime and Revitalize Communities? - see link below)
• Educational Attainment. Kids living in single-parent homes or in step-families report lower educational expectations on the part of their parents, less parental monitoring of school work, and less overall social supervision than children from intact families. (N.M. Astore and S. McLanahan, American Sociological Review, No. 56 (1991)
• Juvenile Detention Rates. 70% of juveniles in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes (Source: What Can the Federal Government Do To Decrease Crime and Revitalize Communities? - see link below)
• Confused Identities. Boys who grow up in father-absent homes are more likely that those in father-present homes to have trouble establishing appropriate sex roles and gender identity.(P.L. Adams, J.R. Milner, and N.A. Schrepf, Fatherless Children, New York, Wiley Press, 1984).
• Aggression. In a longitudinal study of 1,197 fourth-grade students, researchers observed "greater levels of aggression in boys from mother-only households than from boys in mother-father households." (N. Vaden-Kierman, N. Ialongo, J. Pearson, and S. Kellam, "Household Family Structure and Children's Aggressive Behavior: A Longitudinal Study of Urban Elementary School Children," Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 23, no. 5 (1995).
• Achievement. Children from low-income, two-parent families outperform students from high-income, single-parent homes. Almost twice as many high achievers come from two-parent homes as one-parent homes. (One-Parent Families and Their Children, Charles F. Kettering Foundation, 1990).
• Delinquency. Only 13 percent of juvenile delinquents come from families in which the biological mother and father are married to each other. By contract, 33 percent have parents who are either divorced or separated and 44 percent have parents who were never married. (Wisconsin Dept. of Health and Social Services, April 1994).
• Criminal Activity. The likelihood that a young male will engage in criminal activity doubles if he is raised without a father and triples if he lives in a neighborhood with a high concentration of single-parent families. Source: A. Anne Hill, June O'Neill, Underclass Behaviors in the United States, CUNY, Baruch College. 1993

All these (and there is much more information on fatherless children) should be a sobering reminder to fathers of the important role they play in their children’s lives.  But we also need to be reminded of the critical role fathers play in their children’s spiritual life.  It is through the life and example of their fathers that children come to know and love God.  If the fathers fail to live a godly life, the chances that their children will follow God are greatly reduced and in many cases it may not even happen.

A Prayer You May Say: Father, awaken in us as fathers and mothers the importance of living a life worthy of Your calling, knowing that our life and example will determine whether our children will learn to trust You, love you, and follow You.  Help us to be faithful to You daily and to lead our children through prayer and the study of Your Word closer to you.

Used by permission of Adventist Family Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.