Advent Day 18

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:15)

If I call God, “God,” I speak truthfully. If I call him, “Lord,” I speak submissively. But what if I dare to call him “Father”? Then, I speak with a seeming audacity, a boldness that is shockingly familiar and intimate. Do we mere mortals dare to call the Master of the Universe, the Omnipotent Creator, our Father?

Not only do we dare to do so, but we are invited, even commanded to do so by the very one who places us into God’s family. When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he did not say, “When you pray, say, ‘O Nameless Power’ or even ‘Lord God Almighty.’” No, he said to them, “Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven…’” (Matt. 6:9).

To call God “Father” is to live in the space which Jesus created for us. He set us free from sin and death. We are no longer slaves, pandering to the flesh, handcuffed to evil. His cross and resurrection are the keys that unlock those chains. In Christ, liberated from all condemnation, we are led by the Spirit of God as sons of God (Rom. 8:14).

We are far more than servants of God, more than even friends of our Father, for “the Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Rom. 8:16-17).

Because in Christ, God has become our Abba, our Father. We do not shudder as slaves shackled to fear, but with boldness and confidence we stand before the Lord as children, his sons and daughters, co-heirs with Jesus. Our Father loves us as he loves Jesus. Our Father sees us as he sees Jesus. Our Father cares for us just as he cared for the Christ child. It’s shocking. It’s exhilarating. And it’s beautiful beyond words, to know that we are not guests or strangers in our Father’s home, but his dearly beloved children.

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