It is because you really are His sons
that God has sent the Spirit of His Son
into our hearts to cry, “Father, dear Father. [1]
Gal. 4:6 ( J.B.Phillips)

Let’s pretend.

Let’s say that as you were growing up your dad was a great companion (and I realize that this may be a difficult picture for some of you because of the earthly dad you had, but go with me, please’pretend!) He would play with you’throw you up in the air and catch you with his strong arms. Chase you. Catch you. Wrestle with you and let you win! He read to you’with great drama’and you loved it. He hugged you close, kissed you often, and told you times unnumbered how very, very much he loved you.

You grew and the love between you and your dad grew’deeper, more personal with still the impassioned declarations of love and an endless supply of “bear” hugs.

You’ve graduated from your university now and are ready to go out into the big scary world and try to discover just what God has planned for you. Wonder of wonders’there is an opening in your dad’s very large, very successful company that would be just the thing for you. But your dad is the CEO’he is the executive you must confront’he is the one who can reject you or accept you. Of course you would be nervous, you’re entering an entirely new world’but scared? This is your dad! So with a deep breath you take the elevator to his luxurious office.

Are you afraid? No. There’s not the least bit of fear, you’re just rather nervous about this “new role.” But do you think for a single second that he will scowl at you, embarrass you, belittle you, remind you of the things you have done wrong through the years, ask questions designed to confuse you or hurt you? Never! You’ve lived with this “father” a long, long time. You respect his position of authority; you are approaching him as you have never approached him before’yes, but scared? No. He is your dad.

Well, God is your Dad’your Father. Oh, I’m not negating the awesomeness of God. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all (I Chron. 29:11). I believe that! I’m not being disrespectful. I’m not intending to be too familiar or flippant. I’m just saying I’ve lived with my beloved Father for a long, long time. Our relationship keeps growing as we spend time together and walk with each other day by day. I am completely confident of His unconditional love for me and confident that He has a plan for me. And you might say, “I could do that with Jesus maybe, but not with God!” Wait. Aren’t they the same? Aren’t the “Three” One? Of course!

Why do we fear Him? He died for me! He tells me over and over in His Word that He loves me. He is holding out His arms for me to run to Him and be engulfed in a “bear” hug to end all bear hugs! Yes, we have images drawn for us by some of the penman of the Bible, but I know Him in a way they may have never known Him. He has been my constant Companion, my Strength, my Comforter, my Rock, my dearest Friend in whom I have confided my deepest secrets and who knows every minute detail of my life. I grew up with Him! Afraid? No. I’m not afraid to meet my Dad. Excited? Super, super excited! Nervous? Yes, after all He is the CEO and deserves my respect, my admiration, and my honor. We’ve spent many hours together and been through many experiences together’some happy, some sad. Yes, I know Him.

Jude 24-25 reads: Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen

According to God’s message to me through Jude, I will be anticipating’excited and oh! so happy to be in His presence. Thank you, Jude, for sharing this with me and thank You, Lord Jesus, for making this possible. I love you, Dad. Your girl.

[1]He was traveling on a bus in Israel and a man boarded with his little child who crawled up into his daddy’s lap for the ride. They started laughing and playing together. And then the little boy reached up, took hold of his daddy’s beard and started shaking it kind of like a wet dog shakes saying, “Abba, Abba, Abba….”

Do you know what Abba means? It “approximates to a personal name,” like “Papa.” It is “the word framed by the lips of infants” and older children “expressing [their] love and intelligent confidence” in their father.

Jesus came, talking to God and about God. But He didn’t call Him Jehovah. Or Elohim. Or Adonai. Or El Shaddai. No, Jesus came and called Him Abba, Papa, Daddy, Father.