“Abba”
On a large, universal scale, Paul
address the role of law, to bring people to the realization of their need for
God, and the role of His Son, to provide for humanity the actual way to
God. On a smaller, individual scale, we
are each given opportunity to make the transition from “child”, one who obeys
only the prohibitive rules laid out, to “mature”, one who responds out of
love. Either way, the Father, the Papa,
is the same. What changes is how we
engage Him.
We
can live according to rules and standards, clear and defined (as children do),
but in which we inevitably fail—at least in some respects. If we
choose this route, we have little reason to call out “Abba, Father” for we
already have the written restrictions by which we operate. If, on the other hand, we are seeking to be
led by His Spirit, we will certainly encounter times of needing His clarity,
His leading, and His confirmation. We
can place our faith and hope in Jesus, and use our heart and mind to seek God’s
heart and mind, (as those mature in faith do).
In this place, we obey not because we are slaves who fear punishment,
but because we are children who want to please and delight their heavenly
Papa. These are the ones who inherit the
blessings of God through Christ.
And
what are we inheriting? Think about
it. Freedom from corruption. Freedom from insecurity. Freedom from hopelessness. We are inheriting the promise of the Spirit
of God: the life and power of Jesus
operating in and through us, the sons
and daughters of the King of the Universe.
Read and Pray: Mark
14:36, Isaiah 49:14:16a, Romans 8:18-30
Note: For those who have a hard time with the
concept of a father who is good, warm, loving and gracious, it is well
worthwhile to spend time getting to know and meditate upon the character of
God. Consider committing to daily
reading of the Psalms and Proverbs. A
great way to do this is to read according to date, and add every 30th
Psalm. You will end up reading 5 Psalms
each day and will have read all of them by the end of the month. Add to that the Proverb chapter corresponding
to the date, and you will discover much about God’s heart. For example, if today is the 12th,
I would read Psalm 12, Psalm 42, Psalm 72, Psalm 102, Psalm 132 and Proverbs
12.
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