Child of God – January 2, 2020

“Abba, Father.”
Galatians 4:6

Child of God

It’s amazing how quickly and deeply children become attached to their parents. Mothers and fathers carry out their roles, and children learn to depend on them for nourishment, comfort, support, and boundaries. When children have stable parents, emotional bonds to one another last for a lifetime.

God, our heavenly Father, creates similar emotional bonds in us when he feeds us with his Holy Word and Holy Supper. He comforts us with his promises, and those promises support us when we are weak. He sets boundaries for us, showing us the blessings of keeping his laws, and the curses for breaking them.

Although we do not see him, God sends his Spirit into our hearts, and the emotional bonds to God that the Spirit creates in us last a lifetime.

It’s also amazing how children learn language from their parents. Parents speak, and children imitate the sounds. If bilingual parents speak both languages, their children grow up bilingual. You can often hear the speech patterns of parents in children’s speech even after the children move away.

The Holy Spirit teaches us the speech patterns of God, our Heavenly Father. We learn to speak about him and to him in an endearing way. The same way that English-speaking babies say “Dada,” and Galatian babies said “Abba,” we call God our Father in heaven. With these words, God tenderly invites us to believe that he is our true Father and that we are his true children so that we pray to him as boldly and confidently as dear children ask their dear father.

Prayer:
Dear Father in heaven, thank you for making me your child through faith in Christ Jesus. Keep me close to you all of my life until I join you in eternal life. Amen.