Abba

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

This part of Romans chapter 8 talks about us being heirs with Christ, and how we no longer live for the flesh but for the Lord. "Abba" is an intimate word for "Father." I love that there are so many names for God and that's why I've decided to try to focus on one a day, to think through what it means and how it impacts my relationship with Him. Knowing that God is also "Abba," is a very comforting thing. It shows that God is not a far away God, but a close, intimate God to whom we can cry out to in our fear and distress. When you really think about it, God could easily, if He wanted to, be a far away God that didn't lovingly care for His children who are sinful and who mess up again and again. But that's not the God we serve. That is not Abba. Abba is our Father! Sometimes it's hard to think of God as a Father because we compare Him to our earthly fathers. But Abba is a Father unlike anyone we could ever know on Earth. He loves us more than we could know. I'm so glad that God is a personal, intimate God; a God that by him I can cry, "Abba, Father!"