"...but you have received a 'spirit of adoption' as sons by which we cry out "Abba! Father!"
Romans 8:15b
The Hebrew word of 'Ab', or Aramaic 'Abba' means 'daddy' or 'papa'. This eventually came to mean 'dear father'. Three places in the New Testament, God the Father is referred to as 'Abba'. In Mark 14:36, when Jesus was pouring out His heart to the Father, sweating drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, His cry was to "Abba, Father", or "Father, my Father". To put it even plainer as to the Hebrew and Aramaic interpretation, He was saying "Daddy, my very own Daddy".
In Romans 8:14, 15 it is telling us that the believer is a 'son' (or daughter) of God, and we can cry "Abba, Father". Then in Galatians 4:6 it says we have the Spirit of Jesus to confirm that we are sons and daughters, by crying out for us "Abba, Father".
How can we as mere mortals, have such a close association with God that we can call Him Father, or Daddy? We become God's children by placing our trust in Jesus Christ as Lord. God receives us into His family and our sins are forgiven. When our 'Daddy' looks at us, He sees us as a pure and forgiven child because of what Jesus did on Calvary.
Prayer: Father, my Father! I thank You for the gift of becoming Your child. I thank You for being my Father and providing all my needs. May I always glorify You and may others see me as Your child. I want to be a reflection of Your love and image, so that I can hear others say "she has her Father's eyes." I thank You in the precious name of Jesus. Amen
