Call Him Daddy

Ephesians 3:14 - "For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ..."

Notice Who Paul is bowing his knee to. He does not just say God, even though He is God. He says to Abba. To Daddy. Do you have that relationship with your Heavenly Father?

Now I know that when I mention the Fatherhood of God, it can produce a very mixed response in people. Some have had troubled relationships with their earthly fathers. Some never have had a father present in their homes. Some have unfortunately experienced abuse from their father. And when I say "God wants to be your Father," it can be a real hurdle to overcome.

But Paul says he bows his knees to the Father, "from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named" (Eph. 3:15). He is saying that our very concept of family, our earthly understanding of what a father is, comes from the idea God Himself first defined. He is our Father. He is the one from Whom fatherhood itself is derived. So it is not that you should understand your heavenly Father through the lens of your earthly father. It is exactly the opposite. You should understand what an earthly father is supposed to be through the lens of the heavenly Father. He is the standard. Not the other way around.

I teach my three sons, "Some people call me pastor, but there are only three boys in the whole world who can call me one particular name, and it is the most special name of all. And that is daddy. Only three people can call me that." And guess what? The God Who created the universe looks at you and me and says, "Do not just call Me God, even though I am." He says, "Call Me Daddy. Call Me Abba. Come to Me as Father."

Now what does this Father do for us? Jesus said, in Matthew 7:7-11, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"

"How much more..."  Now He is not calling me an evil father. He is saying that, in comparison to the goodness of God, the best I can ever be as a father is evil in comparison. And He says, "If you, human and broken as you are, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give to you?"

An earthly father would not take a smooth stone that looks like a loaf of bread and hand it to your hungry child and say, "Try to chew on that." He would not throw a serpent at a child asking for a fish. He is not playing games with us. He is not trying to trick us. He is not going to abuse us. He is not going to disappear when we need Him. That is the Abba relationship we are invited to enter. He comes to us, not as a distant king, but as a Father. He wants to meet our needs, even before we express our needs to Him. He is our heavenly Father. Hallelujah!

Reflection Question: What emotion does it stir in you to know that the God of the universe invites you to call Him Daddy?

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You are not distant or cruel, but a good Father Who gives good gifts. Heal the personal wounds from my earthly relationship, and teach me to come to You as a child to You, my heavenly Father. In Jesus' Name, amen.

Adapted from "More Love, More Power": https://www.joshfranklin.org/media/98862zy/12-more-love-more-power-eph-3-14-21