Who's Your Daddy?

Romans 8:15 - 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.


After accepting a job in Alpharetta, GA I packed up my family and moved from Carpentersville, IL. This was a bittersweet move. I was leaving my family behind, but moving closer to my wife’s family. My “hero” here on Earth has, and still is, my brother-in-law, Johnny. I have sought his counsel on many occasions, especially for spiritual matters. I watched his relationship with his daughter and tried to model my relationship with Jenni after it. Without putting him on a pedestal, he is a wonderful role model.

You would have to ask Jenni if I succeeded in being the type of father to be looked up to. But I do think there is evidence of a good relationship. At almost 21 Jenni doesn’t have any trouble talking to me about almost anything. She still says, “I love you”, in public and in front of her friends. She will still hug me and give me a kiss right on the lips. And one of the most precious things to me is that she still calls me Daddy.

Several years ago I heard a message about the above passage. I won’t try to re-preach the message, but I would like to point out one word that has stood out to me: Abba. This word has become very important to me. It is so personal and extremely heart felt. As a matter of fact, it is a word that has changed the way I view God. I believe God should be respected and held in high esteem. But we often forget just how much He loves us.

I grew up in a home where everyone was addressed with a title. It was always “Mister”, “Misses”, “Aunt”, “Uncle”, and so on. I was given a formal name: Phillip. And I insisted my daughter be named in the same fashion: Jennifer. Don’t get me wrong, I feel respect is important and formality has a place. But sometimes we need to get a little closer and more intimate with our family.

This is where the word “Abba” comes in. It denotes a very close, personal, intimate relationship with the Title Holder. It means “Daddy”. Every time I see the word “Daddy” I get an image of Jenni climbing into my lap, curling up, placing her head on my chest, and saying, “I love you Daddy”. It is hard to get much more intimate than that! And when I think of “Abba”, I get the picture of myself climbing into God’s lap, curling up, placing my head on His chest, and saying, “I love you Daddy”. And His response is the same as mine is to Jenni, He wraps His loving arms around me and says, “and I love you my child, more than you can imagine”.