Abba Father

“So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father.’” (Romans 8:15 NLT)

Father figures come in different forms: biological dads, stepdads, adoptive dads, other relatives, or sometimes strangers who temporary fill in. They may have an amalgam of different characteristics--strict, authoritarian, distant, needy, protective, providing, guiding, loving, caring, aloof, absent, unreliable, abusive, dependable, trustworthy, available, etc. The father figures in our lives deeply affect how we see the world and ourselves; but more importantly, our ideas about God are shaped by our relationships with our earthly fathers.

“Define yourself radically as one beloved by God. This is the true self. Every other identity is illusion.” ― Brennan Manning,  Abba's Child: The Cry of the Heart for Intimate Belonging

Our heavenly Father is perfect in every way--available, protective, possessive, wise, dependable, caring, trustworthy. He provides for us, listens to us, and loves us sacrificially. We are chosen by God as His children. This was no accident or surprise. The timing was perfectly planned. He gave us His name and His Spirit. We belong to Him. We are precious in His eyes. This is our identity. We were never meant to be enslaved by fear or insecurity. Instead, we were created to live boldly, expectantly, knowing we have a Daddy who is everything we need Him to be.