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You and I have desired it. Every child everywhere wants to experience it. It is a powerful ingredient in the life of anyone who has truly enjoyed it. For those who missed out on it, artificial replacements could never replace it. What is “it“? An intimate loving bond with your father.  One that goes beyond just having a father/child relationship born by family heritage.

There is no need to speak further about the “it”. You know whether your relationship with dad gave you joy and confidence, or pain and emptiness. Thankfully, there is a vital Father/child relationship available to all Christ followers that will never disappoint. And in this relationship, every child chooses the level of intimacy.

When our daughter was very young, there was a song that had lyrics something like this, “Daddy’s girl, you’re the center of your daddy’s world.” I would sing those words to my daughter trying to emphasize the level of love and care that I had for her. Singing a song will never give a child exactly what they need, but it can express the desire of a father’s heart. In the heart of God, there is love without fail, care without end, and acceptance without condition for all who accept His offer of salvation. Once adopted into His family, a child of God will never be without a secure relationship with their Perfect Father.

Romans 8:15
For 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.

Abba is “an informal, Aramaic term for Father that conveys a sense of intimacy. Like the English terms ‘Daddy’ or ‘Papa,’ it connotes tenderness, dependence, and a relationship free from fear or anxiety.” Those words taken from The MacArthur Bible Commentary present the kind of relationship available to all Christ followers. When Christ was in the garden of Gethsemane facing the cross, His words from Mark 14:36 were “Abba, Father.”  Theirs was a perfect Father/Son relationship, beyond anything our finite minds can comprehend. Amazingly, the Father gives us the opportunity to cry out the same words, and enjoy constant intimacy with Him.

It is interesting in father/child relationships, that every child desires acceptance and love. Sadly, some never receive it. Not so with God.  He is a Father that never fails in offering that to each one of us. He has made an Abba Father relationship available to us, free from fear and anxiety and provided with unconditional acceptance and love. Sadly, most believers don’t cherish it. Sure we enjoy the security of our Father/child relationship, but so often we don’t avail ourselves of the closeness with Abba Father. What an opportunity missed!

My conviction is that most Christ followers desire to please their Father. But there are a myriad of distractions that pull us from Him. He desires for us to be close to Him, and we need it. As your friend, I challenge you to seek your Father today, and cry out Abba Father. He won’t let you down, but the choice is yours.