In The Absence Of A Father
From the book entitle "The Power Of The Levitical Blessing" by Frank Francis.

Almost everywhere I speak, I’m asked the same question regarding the Levitical Blessing. “Frank, what if I never had a father to bless me?” Or, “My parents would never do anything like this. Do I have to miss out on God’s blessings on my life?”

In The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus opened up to us valuable insight with the first two words of the prayer, “Our Father…” God is fair and just and He would never deprive anyone of His best when the elements are beyond our control. Keep in mind; you are NEVER without a father. Jesus forever identifies God as the Father of us all. In the absence of an earthly father, simply look one level higher. God the “Father” is waiting and willing to bestow His greatest blessings on you, and many times, He does this by proxy, that is, through another human being. The following true story is a beautiful illustration of how God blesses us
in the absence of an earthly father:

Fred Craddock, a seminary professor was vacationing with his wife in Gatlinburg, TN. One night they found a quiet little restaurant where they looked forward to a private meal—just the two of them. While they were waiting for their meal they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting guests. Craddock whispered to his wife,
“I hope he doesn’t come over here.” He didn’t want the man to intrude on their privacy. But sure enough, the man did come over to their table.
 
“Where are you folks from?” he asked in a friendly voice. “Oklahoma,” they answered.

“Great to have you here in Tennessee” the stranger said.

“Oklahoma is a splendid state, I hear, although
I’ve never been there. What do you do for a living?”

“I teach homiletics at the graduate seminary of Phillips University,” he replied.

“Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I’ve got a really great story for you.”

And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with Craddock and his wife. Craddock groaned inwardly and thought to himself, “Great! Just what I need…another preacher story!”

The man started, “See that mountain over there?” pointing out the restaurant window. “Not far from the base of that mountain, there was a boy born to an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up, because every place he went, he was always asked the same question, ‘Hey boy, who’s your daddy?’ Whether he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store, people would ask the same question, ‘Who’s your daddy?’ He would hide at recess and lunchtime from other students. He would avoid going into stores because that question hurt him so bad. When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to his church. He would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, ‘Who’s your daddy?’ But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd Just about the time he got to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, ‘Son, who’s your daddy?’ The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would finally know the answer to the question, ‘Who’s your daddy’. This new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, said the following to that scared little boy…‘Wait a minute!’ he said, ‘I know who you are. I see the family resemblance now. You are a child of God.’ With that, he patted the boy on his shoulder and said,
‘Boy, you’ve got a great inheritance. Go and claim it.’ The boy smiled for the first time in a long time and walked out the door a changed person. He was never the same again. Whenever anybody asked him, ‘Who’s your Daddy?’ he’d just tell them,
‘I’m a child of God’ ”.

The distinguished gentleman got up from the table and said,
“Isn’t that a great story?”

The professor responded that it really was a great story! As the man turned to leave, he said, “You know, if that new preacher hadn’t told me that I was one of God’s children, I probably never would have amounted to anything! That was the most important single sentence ever spoken to me.” and he walked away.

Craddock and his wife were stunned. He called the waitress over and asked her, “The man who was sitting at our table and just left, do you know who he was?”

The waitress grinned and said, “Of course. Everybody here knows him. That’s Ben Hooper. He’s the former governor of Tennessee!”

Do you see what happened? The preacher, standing in proxy for God, pronounced a “Levitical Blessing” on young Ben Hooper. With his hand on Ben’s shoulder, he blessed him with IDENTITY! He announced that Ben had an inheritance and instructed him to go and claim it and to continue to announce his identity to anyone who asked the question, “Boy, who’s your daddy.” And all of this was done in PUBLIC for everyone to witness! This single act changed his destiny forever — and Ben Hooper acknowledged it freely throughout his life.

While researching the life of Ben Hooper for this book, I made a fascinating discovery. In my home city, Houston, Texas, there is a small, and quite prosperous, incorporated town near Rice University, just west of downtown, which is appropriately named West University. It has approximately 13,000 residents located on 1,248 residential acres with close to 20 acres of commercial property. Upper middleclass professionals occupy this tiny town, which maintains a high premium for homes in its area.

I always wondered why West University had been
positioned in the heart of a major city. The answer came as quite a surprise. None other than former Tennessee Governor Ben Hooper developed the city of West University in 1917. It incorporated in 1925 due to the reluctance by the city of Houston to extend power lines “out that far”!

The Levitical Blessing that Ben Hooper received as a boy was present throughout his entire life and extended into all he touched. His life was one of empowering the outcasts…turning negative situations into positive blessings, and that is how West University came to be. What was once rejected by society, much like Ben Hooper himself, is now a precious gem in the heart of Houston, Texas. It is a living monument and testimony to the fact that God can bless an illegitimate boy with a very legitimate inheritance.

So, in answer to the question at the beginning of this chapter; if this world deprives you a an earthly father, God will personally take on the responsibility of a father for you, and He will more than willingly lay His hand on you and bless you. He does this because He loves YOU! Standing in the absence of your father is the King of the Universe Himself.

© 2004 Frank Francis and New Franklin Press