“Good afternoon, Sir. Thank you for calling our help desk. How would you like to be addressed, by your first name or last name?”

“Thank you. You may address me by my first name.”

Our world is marked by the casual attitude of how complete strangers address one another. All of us have encountered situations on the phone or in a setting such as a doctor’s office when we are addressed by our first names by complete strangers. The formality that once characterized much of societal manners is discarded in favor of a casual familiarity with using one’s first name. Depending upon one’s age, this may be viewed favorably as collegial or negatively as rude. I definitely fall into the latter category. To be given the choice of how I would like to be addressed was refreshing to hear. Calling someone by their first name assumes a level of intimacy that may not exist. 

In the dark moments before Jesus Christ was captured and put on trial, He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, aware of the unimaginable pain and suffering He would soon endure on the Cross. He cried to God, the Father, and addressed Him as Abba. 

“Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” 

Mark 14:36 (NLT)

Abba is a very intimate way to address one’s father. It is akin to us calling God, Daddy. It was unprecedented and startling to hear Jesus speak of God, His Father, in such an intimate manner. It implied a deep intimacy that had never been experienced with the Jews and was foreign to all other religions. It was even more astounding when the Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Galatians that we may also call out to God, the Father, as Abba Father!

And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir. 

Galatians 4:6-7 (NLT)

When we confess our sins and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we enter into the same relationship as Jesus Christ has with God, the Father. We are now sons and daughters and co-heirs with Jesus Christ to the magnificent glories that God bestows upon all who place their trust in Him. God is our Father, our Abba, our Daddy. We have the same intimate relationship with God that Jesus Christ has with Him. We may address God with all of these titles because of the sacrifice and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Love and trust in the Lord; seek His will in your life.

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