Daddy

    You know that time you fall to the same temptation, again? You know, that one you thought you conquered? Whatever it was, poor time management, selfishness, flashes of temper, maybe something worse, that time you fall down down again, just when you thought you were on top of the world?

     That is the when the truth of who you are becomes so very important, maybe the most important you'll ever know or learn. When you know you are a sinner, and you know you've failed God yet again, that is when the truth of your status with God becomes so sweet.

     Gal. 4:6-7 says, "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, 'Abba, Father'. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ."

     Brennan Manning preached his most famous sermon "Abba" from this text. "Abba" is the Hebrew word which is our equivalent for "da-da", probably the simplest word a child can pronounce (after, of course, ma-ma :). "Abba" was not the word of an intellectual, strong adult speaking on equal terms to his father, asking for life advice. "Abba" was the two syllable word of an infant crying for his Father.

     That is how we can approach God. Even in our failure, even when we fall, again and again, even when we mess up and we look back over the mess that is who we are so often, we can look up, lift our hands heavenward, and cry out "Abba, Father". "Daddy".

     We are sons of God. Despite my sin, my failure, despite all the times I've given in and surrendered to my flesh, despite all my short-comings, I am a son of God, a cherished, loved, cared for child of the King. And He loves us more than we can imagine.

     So, fellow sinners, that's where our hope can lie, even in the most depressing of times. Even when we come face to face again with the mess that we can sometimes be and often are, our hope is in the mercy, love, and grace of a long-suffering, compassionate Father. Thank God!