Abba

This morning, a beautiful, chilly autumn morning, I walked into Starbucks (surprising, right?). Like in all Starbucks Coffee shops, there were a variety of people sitting at the tables and standing around waiting for their names to be called; some were on their laptops, some were engaging in dialogue, and some were with their kids. Typically, when I enter into a public place, I can’t help but inconspicuously observe the behaviors of others. I’m sure the majority of us do this. I simply observe, notice, and become aware of my surroundings.

After I ordered a latte (shockingly not pumpkin spice), I chose a table to where I would sit, and I began to put down my belongings. Facing the window, in two chairs, sat a father and his son. The father was middle aged and the son, about 5 or 6. The son was casually playing a game on a device (his father’s phone, I hope and assume) and the father was simply sitting there, grinning, seeming as if he was relishing in the moment, content in the fact that he was with his son. A few moments later, he began to gently stroke his son’s back, and whispered something in his ear. Then the son jumped into his father’s arms and the father embraced him. The son was sitting in his father’s lap for quite some time; they were simply enjoying each other’s presence, and were unintimidated about expressing their affection towards each other.

I was witnessing a sacred and special bond. As soon as I saw this affectionate interaction, I thought about God’s relation to us as His children. My immediate thought was “God, You’re such a sweet Father.” This observation and conclusion of mine was a bit unexpected, but I think that the Lord directed me to notice this interaction so that He could show me one way in which His love towards His children may be illustrated or visualized.

Often, we forget that God is our Father. Yes, He is holy; yes, He is the righteous Judge; yes, He is the King seated on high (thank goodness that He is all of these) ― but how frightening would that be if He were harsh and distant? If God were harsh and distant, we’d probably be in a constant state of fear, attempting so hard not to make mistakes. We’d likely be praying every second of the day, trying not to dishonor His holiness, shrouding ourselves in ritualism.

But thankfully, holiness, righteousness, and kingship (all important) do not amount to the fullness of God’s character. In His Word, we also read that He is merciful, loving, personal, and good. God wants to be among His people, and through the cross, through the precious blood of the Spotless Lamb, we are not strangers to God, we are not His enemies ― we are His children. When we accept Jesus as our Savior and make the decision to give our lives to Him, we are adopted as children of the Most High God (Romans 8:15-17).

Not only is God our Father, but He is a good Father. We sing songs about it all the time, we could likely do so in our sleep, but are we consciously thinking about how good He truly is? Are we meditating on the fact that He is our loving Father? Think about it. God is utterly perfect. He has no flaws. He never fails. He never makes mistakes. He is constant. He doesn’t get confused, and He only does right. We, on the other hand, are imperfect, have countless flaws, we fail more than we’d like to admit, we make mistakes, we are indecisive, we get confused a lot, and we sin by nature. We don’t even deserve to be able to communicate with God, but not only can we communicate with Him, we can know Him intimately as a good Father who dearly loves His children.

Consider the illustration that I used earlier about the father and his son I saw at Starbucks. Their relationship with each other was not distant. It was not apprehensive. It was not awkward, nor was it neglectful. Rather, it was a relationship of familiarity, closeness, attachment, affection ― intimacy. This is the type of relationship that God longs to have with His children.

In Romans 8:15 Paul writes “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba, Father.”

That word, Abba. It simply means father, but it is also a term of endearment (children would address their fathers as Abba). When we are born again, God becomes Abba. This, by no means, takes away from the fact that God is still God ― because He always has been, always is, and always will be God (Hebrews 13:8) ― but when we experience new birth, we are born as His (Romans 8:12-17), and now have the opportunity to enjoy deeper intimacy with Him.

Unfortunately, not all earthly Fathers are good fathers. Some have caused pain to their children, others have gone above and beyond for their children, but God is not merely a good Father, He is a perfect Father, and He gives us good gifts (Matthew 7:11; James 1:17). There is no need to grieve if you’ve never experienced the love, provision, and protection of an earthly Father, because our Heavenly Father bestows upon us life-giving love (John 10:10-11), He supplies every single one of our needs (Philippians 4:19), and He is our refuge (Psalm 9:9).

Intimacy with God requires a certain degree of an understanding of who God is (we will never fully understand who He is, but little by little, He reveals Himself to us in several ways throughout our lives), and when we realize that He is our good, perfect Father, we will interact with Him differently ― not in an irreverent way, but in a way that will bring peace and joy so that we can enjoy him as our Father, and He can enjoy us as His children (as the father in the illustration enjoyed being with his son). Our Heavenly Father loves us deeply.

I love the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). Something about this story that has always resonated with me is the fact that the father did not love his son any less after he decided to return to his father’s house. When the father saw his son in the distance, approaching his estate, tattered, broken, clothed in shame, he ran towards him. He didn’t wait for his son to get closer to where he was before he would approach him; the father met his son where he was, and he ran. He ran.

God wants you (II Peter 3:9). He is pursuing you (Matthew 18:11-14; Luke 19:10). He is a Father who longs to lavish His love on you (Jeremiah 31:3), share intimacy with you (James 4:8), and share with you hidden things which you do not know (Jeremiah 33:3). He will never leave you (Joshua 1:9), and He will hold you by the hand in times of trouble (Isaiah 41:13).

It does not matter what you have done in your life ― you may have grieved Him several times, I know that I have, but no matter what ― He will always be waiting for you, with open arms, ready to embrace you and welcome you home.

He is a merciful and gracious Father. He is a gentle and kind Father. He is a Father who loves us relentlessly. He loves us so much that He left His throne, He left the perfect environment in heaven, and He came into this broken world to pay a debt that He did not owe, for the sake of His glory, and so that deep intimacy with Him could become a possibility. He humbled Himself so that we could be closer to Him. He wants to be close to you. He wants to hold you in His arms. He wants you to enjoy simply basking in His presence, and being with Him because you’re in love.

The most beautiful thing that you could ever experience in this earthly life is intimacy with your Heavenly Father. Once you recognize and embrace Him as Abba ― your very, very good, perfect, matchless, loving Father ― everything changes.