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Abba, Father?

         For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. (Romans 8:14-17)

So, the Spirit gives us life. But wait! There’s more! God doesn’t say, “OK, you’re alive, now you’re on your own.” God doesn’t say, “Kneel, slave.” He says, “You are now My child.” We get to answer with “Abba, Father.”  Can you imagine? Let’s put it in more human terms. What if Elon Musk, Bill Gates, or some other very wealthy, powerful celebrity you like shows up on your door and says, “You’re now my child”? For the sake of argument, we’ll also stipulate that somehow, this person is also good. He’s not engaged in anything perverted or corrupt.  He’s a good man. He might not give you everything you want. He might have rules about your behavior but can you imagine the differences that might make in your life?

I don’t think I can even begin to imagine, especially at my age. The closest I think I can come is my knight in shining armor, who shows up, fixes whatever problem I’m facing (usually household repairs) and rides off into the sunset until the next household disaster. But what if that’s not his idea? What if he’s actually interested in a relationship, not a job? Yes, there are aspects of a job in the father/child relationship, but what if that’s not his focus?  I can’t imagine it.

Yes, I know some of the details, sending His Son who died for me. Giving me His Spirit (see the post of 27 October, 2026 for that topic.) Those are job requirements. I know they’re supposed to be true. I’ll even go so far as to believe they are true, but that’s not the same as His being my Father. So here’s the question – what is a father supposed to do>

                The four ideas that come to mind are 1) produce children, 2) provide for their needs, 3) educate/discipline them, and 4) love them. Are there others? What do those look like? Which of them do you need God to reveal to you in your life?

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