Abba Father

Romans 8:15-16 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of son-ship. And by Him we cry, "Abba, Father." 

Galatians 4:6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit Who calls out, "Abba, Father." 

The meaning of 'Abba' is equivalent to 'daddy'. It denotes a close relationship between a child and the father. It denotes a level of trust and affection between two people built of time tested trials and shared history. 

I remember when my sons were little, many, many years ago. When their father got home from work, they would run to meet him with arms wide and utter joy on their faces. They would shout, "Daddy" at the top of their lungs. They would tell him all about their day, usually at the same time. They felt confident that their daddy wanted to hear all about their adventures. They had an assurance of knowing they would be greeted and loved by their father. 

Our heavenly Father wants the same type of relationship with us. He wants to hear us say, "Good morning, Abba." He wants us to run to Him with our arms and hearts wide open. He would love to hear us say, "Daddy!!" with equal joy and exuberance that our children do.  

When the prodigal son returned home, the father ran to greet him with love and acceptance and forgiveness. Our Abba Father does the same thing for us. When we return after wandering away or making mistakes or deliberately sinning, God receives us with joy. While He doesn't want us to treat Him with disrespect or irreverence, He does want us to feel comfortable and willing to tell Him all about our day. He wants to hear all about our dreams and hopes and joys just as much as He desires to hear our confessions and repentance. 

Our God is a God of balance. The universe is perfectly balanced so that the planets and stars and suns will stay in place. Our relationship with our heavenly Father is the same. It was initially created to be a perfect balance of love and respect and reverence. When Adam chose to listen to Satan, that balance was disrupted. But we have the opportunity and right as children of the Most High to restore that balance in our relationship