Dearly Loved

To purchase the freedom of those who were 

subject to the Law, that we might be adopted and have sonship conferred upon us. 

And because you really are His sons, 

God has sent the Holy Spirit of His Son 

into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" 

Therefore, you are no longer a slave but a son; 

and if a son, then an heir by the aid of God. 

- Galatians 4:5-7

When I was eighteen, I got my first (and only) tattoo. It's small, on my foot, and simply says, 'Abba'. "No, not Abba the band" is what I have to say to most people who notice it. Abba is an Aramaic word. Jesus often referred to God the Father as Abba in the Bible. Our closest English translation is "Daddy", so it is obviously an intimate word and says a lot about Jesus' relationship with His Father in Heaven.

In Galatians 4, Paul reminds the people that Christ purchased their freedom so that they may be adopted and granted the privilege of being called sons. Once slaves to sin, now children of the Living God. Once bonded to Jewish Law, now free through Christ's fulfillment of the Law. Once separated from the Creator, now adopted by Him. The Gospel message is a powerful one that no other religion can match. "And because you really are His sons, God has sent the Holy Spirit of His Son in our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" (Galatians 4:6) Jesus wanted not only to free us from bondage, but to grant us access to God as our Daddy.

As slaves can be bought and sold, so we were purchased; slaves of sin. Not to become slaves to God, but to be set free by Him. Free from the shame and guilt of sin. Free from misery and hopelessness. From from an eternity separated from Him. Free to live as forgiven children, and heirs of the Kingdom of God!

Those times when God is feeling far away; when His forgiveness seems out of reach; when we feel unloved and forgotten, we need to remember these powerful truths. We have been set free from the bondage of sin. Our mistakes don't define us. We can always confidently approach the throne of God and cry out, "Abba! Father!" and He will be there. Not as an accuser, or abuser, but as a Papa who dearly loves His children.