Abba, Pappa!

 Tuesday January 3rd, 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 view of God up to the time of Jesus was of a majestic God far off in the heavens. Jesus is God’s revelation for humanity, Emmanuel, God with us. What Jesus revealed to us about God is that more than anything else we are called into a relationship that compels us to call out “Abba”. Another word for Abba is Papa. We are not called into a relationship with a God before whom we are to grovel and try to please; we are called into a relationship with a loving God to whom we can go with every aspect of our lives. A God with whom we try to please out of response to living in this loving relationship, albeit not very well. An Abba is someone on whose lap you sit and hear a story. Abba is someone who washes off your wounds and puts on a Band-Aid and kisses your woes and makes them better. Abba is someone you can bring all of your problems and thoughts to and know you will be heard. Abba is someone who lovingly stops you when you are getting yourself in trouble, or sometimes steps back and lets you get into trouble and then helps you set things right, but either way it is done out of love. Jesus tells us that the majestic Lord God Almighty, creator of the heavens and the earth, is Abba, papa, and loves us dearly and calls us to love this Abba and love others in return.