“And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” Galatians 4:6.

Today is Father’s Day… and of course my mind goes to memories of my own dad, the late Rev. Elra Ward, Sr. As a daughter I can recall that my dad was soft spoken, compassionate, loved his family, discipline us with a few words…but they were powerful, he was selfless in caring for the needs of us and our mother and above all gave us instructions to love the Lord and keep His word in our hearts forever, I keep his words close to heart- he would constantly reminded me that the word of God is our prescription for life…he would say you can’t live without it.

And little did he know that “granddaddy’s man- as he would call my son when he was a toddler, would one day grow into a man in whom I see so many traits of his granddaddy- he gives selflessly to the care, love and provisions of my daughter-in-love and my two grandchildren, he is a compassionate and a loving dad…and above all things he loves, just like granddaddy and his mom- the One who we are all able to call “Abba, Father” The Lord God Almighty!

So, exactly what does Abba mean? As stated from Dictionary.com, Abba is the defining term for father in the Aramaic language. spoken by Jesus and written by the Apostle Paul as an intimate term to characterize their personal relationships with God.

When Jesus calls God “Abba Father” in the garden of Gethsemane in Mark 14:36 “And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless, not what I will, but what thou wilt.” It as a way of acknowledging the power and the greatness of God that would soon be manifested through His sacrifice on the cross. It’s an expression of humble admiration and love for His Father, as well as an intimate plea to God.

We are also able to cry “Abba, Father. Every born-again believer is a beloved child of God, we are adopted in the family of God by His grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and because God has sent the Holy Spirit into our hearts, we have the privilege, we too also cry out “Abba, Father”.  “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” Galatians 4:6.

My friends… whether you have a father that you can remember today or not… you were created in the image of God from the beginning of time. “So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Genesis 1:27. Knowing that we are made in the same image as God, establishes an irrepressible bond that we share with our Heavenly Father and a solid form of intimacy that cannot be replicated with any other. We are His creation, and He loves us unconditionally…He is OUR FATHER!

He hears our cries and above all sees our hearts…therefore, let us worship and adore our loving and most gracious Heavenly Father above all today and always!

To God be the glory and Happy Father’s Day!