Galatians 4:1-7
I've attended many biblical courses in my time but one stands out from this passage. The "Abba! Father!" came up in a class and the translation really struck me.What is the proper translation of the word, "Abba"? We can come up with many synonyms for father. Pop and Dad come to mind but what of Daddy? Daddy is a terms that invokes a childlike love. I speaks to being dependent and loving. It speaks of youth and love. Daddy is the word that is used to define Abba. It is more than "Dad" whom you might ask for $20 and the keys to the car. It is not as formal as "Father" which you might invoke when you are trying to explain a less than desirable grade in school. Daddy is a word even more casual and loving than even "Pop". Daddy is such a special word reserved for an innocent love that it seems (sadly) that only children possess.
It would be wonderful if we could put aside some of the worldly concerns, divest ourselves of some of the practicalities we have learned being in the 'real world' and return ourselves to a state where we could appreciate and revel in our Abba (Daddy), God the Father.
We might actually be afraid to approach God with such simplicity but that is arrogance on our part. We may not want to be seem as childlike but I can assure you that to God we are indeed all children. We are all his children and we are indeed very childlike. We probably should not forget that and we should be willing to approach him with the innocence and love we were able to do as a 5 year old child.
To what end you might ask? As far as God is above us, and as childlike as we in comparison to our creator, God wishes to have a relationship with us. He has offered us the world. Like the child with a guardian in today's passage, we need guidance and love to grow and appreciate all the gifts we have been given. We need to realize sometimes that we are dependent on God, we do need to grow and mature always and for the rest of our lives. We need to remember we are all children of God and we need to be loving and generous like a child in the best possible ways.
Love in innocence and purity.
It would be wonderful if we could put aside some of the worldly concerns, divest ourselves of some of the practicalities we have learned being in the 'real world' and return ourselves to a state where we could appreciate and revel in our Abba (Daddy), God the Father.
We might actually be afraid to approach God with such simplicity but that is arrogance on our part. We may not want to be seem as childlike but I can assure you that to God we are indeed all children. We are all his children and we are indeed very childlike. We probably should not forget that and we should be willing to approach him with the innocence and love we were able to do as a 5 year old child.
To what end you might ask? As far as God is above us, and as childlike as we in comparison to our creator, God wishes to have a relationship with us. He has offered us the world. Like the child with a guardian in today's passage, we need guidance and love to grow and appreciate all the gifts we have been given. We need to realize sometimes that we are dependent on God, we do need to grow and mature always and for the rest of our lives. We need to remember we are all children of God and we need to be loving and generous like a child in the best possible ways.
Love in innocence and purity.
My point is this: heirs, as long as they are minors, are no better than slaves, though they are the owners of all the property; but they remain under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father. So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to the elemental spirits of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.
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