"Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." (Mark 14:13)
The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." (Rom. 8:15)
Thoughts: We call God Father because He cares for us as a good father- a great father would. God is not an "it" - a "force" who does not care about us. He is not so far removed from us that He does not look down on us and help us. One great teaching of Jesus was that God loves us- and loves us as a Father. Seven times in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus refers to God as "your heavenly Father." Our heavenly Father forgives sins, provides for us, knows our needs, is perfect, cares for even the birds. He is , in a sense the father of all- birds and all people. But Jesus reminds us to believe and trust in God as Father. The trinity names of Father and Son indicate a closeness in relationship, mind, and essence. We are adopted children as we believe in God- adopted into a relationship of love.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, that we can call out to you as our Father. Help me to trust in your fatherly love.
Q & A 120
Q. Why did Christ command us to call God “our Father”?
A. To awaken in us at the very beginning of our prayer what should be basic to our prayer— a childlike reverence and trust that through Christ God has become our Father, and that just as our parents do not refuse us the things of this life, even less will God our Father refuse to give us what we ask in faith.1
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