Our Daddy, Our Father

Romans 8:15 (KJV) 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Galatians 4:6 (ESV) 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

In one of my favorite movies, The Patriot, Mel Gibson plays Benjamin Martin, a revolutionary era man who leads a rag-tag group of militia to victory in the War for Independence. There is much about the movie that is good and touching but one little scene always grips my heart. His youngest daughter who is about 4 or 5 years old has refused to talk since her mother died. Benjamin Martin finds out from his son, Gabriel, that she has started speaking and he longs to hear her speak to him. When he finally sees her again on a remote hide-out where his family was staying, she again refuses to speak to him. He is obviously broken hearted that his little girl seems to hate him and won’t speak even a word to him. As he is riding off back to do battle, she looks at him and with tears coming to her eyes, she cries “Poppa! Don’t leave Poppa! I’ll say anything you want, just don’t leave again!” Of course, he sheds tears of great joy and promises that he will come back to her.

This scene always reminds me of Romans 8:15 and Galatians 4:6, where Paul writes of the words used by adopted sons of God when they cry “Abba! Father!”. There is a tenderness and a love in the dual usage of the words for Father in two languages. There is a longing for a close relationship with the One who brought the son into the family.

It is certainly a simple truth but it is no accident that God is seen throughout the Scriptures as the Heavenly Father. Jesus used the term well over 200 times to describe the relationship between God and himself and between God and His believers. The Lord’s prayer or “model” prayer starts with these words “Our Father”. The blessing of this truth is again simple but at the same time profound. God, the creator of the universe, the Almighty God, the Eternal God, wants to have a personal intimate relationship with you, His child. He wants to relate with you as a Father does to a son. He wants to love you, care for you, comfort you, protect you, provide for you, teach you, guide you, bless you, honor you and correct you when necessary. All the things we, as human fathers (and mothers), want to do and be for our children, He wants to do and be for you. He wants to walk with you, talk with you and fellowship with you.

As a Father, He knows there are times when His relationship with us is not as it should be. We decide to go our own way and He will often let us do just that. We go out to live “on our own”, only to find a living that is not what we thought it would be. Life gets tough. Things fall apart. And all the while, our Father, sits at home waiting for us to give up their own way and return to Him. He waits with longing for His children to once again be able to cry “Abba! Father!”