Abba!
Maybe this is a picture of you and God:
A father, who is sitting in his living room, calls for his son who is playing outside. The boy hears the father calling but pretends he doesn't and continues playing. He hears his father's voice again. The son stops for a moment, looks toward the house, ponders, then turns back to his playing. The father calls a third time. This time a bit louder. The boy stops again and looks toward the door slowly. He considers the consequence of not responding. In fear, he walks sluggishly toward the house. He decides it would be better to face his fear of approaching his father than suffer the consequence of not coming at all.
Or, maybe this is a picture of you and God:
A father, who is sitting in his living room, calls for his son who is playing outside. The boy hears the father calling and looks up. He tunes in to listen. He hears his father's voice again. The boy smiles. The sound of his father's voice brings a warm feeling over him. He begins to walk toward the house. The father calls a third time. This time a bit louder. The boy's step quickens. His heart begins to fill with joy. His smile grows bigger. "Abba!" the boy says to himself. "Daddy!" the son whispers out loud. "ABBA!" he shouts as his skip turns into a run toward his father.
If you relate more to the first son than the second son, you are not alone. Many of us feel this way toward our Heavenly Father. The mention of Him triggers guilt. Coming to Him stirs up feelings of fear, anxiety, and even worthlessness. Maybe we see Him as a disappointed Daddy or a harsh authority.
But, this is so far from the Truth. See, the Truth is that He loves us. The Truth is that He'd rather die on a tree than live without us. The Truth is He passionately pursues us and wants our love, affection and friendship.
The problem does not lie with Him. The problem lies with our thinking and the fact that we have believed the lies. Lies of condemnation. Lies that say, "Who are you to talk to God. Who are you to ask anything of Him? Who are you to come to Him? Do you know how disappointed he is in you? Do you know how angry He is with you?"
One thing we must understand, though. We are not right before Him by ourselves. We are not righteous on our own. We can not come to Him with our own righteousness. We must come to Him knowing that Jesus did what we couldn't and because of His sacrifice, we can now come without fear.
See, the second boy who came running with joy toward his father in the scenario above didn't come because he had done everything right. He came running because he knew his Brother had done everything right.
A father, who is sitting in his living room, calls for his son who is playing outside. The boy hears the father calling but pretends he doesn't and continues playing. He hears his father's voice again. The son stops for a moment, looks toward the house, ponders, then turns back to his playing. The father calls a third time. This time a bit louder. The boy stops again and looks toward the door slowly. He considers the consequence of not responding. In fear, he walks sluggishly toward the house. He decides it would be better to face his fear of approaching his father than suffer the consequence of not coming at all.
Or, maybe this is a picture of you and God:
A father, who is sitting in his living room, calls for his son who is playing outside. The boy hears the father calling and looks up. He tunes in to listen. He hears his father's voice again. The boy smiles. The sound of his father's voice brings a warm feeling over him. He begins to walk toward the house. The father calls a third time. This time a bit louder. The boy's step quickens. His heart begins to fill with joy. His smile grows bigger. "Abba!" the boy says to himself. "Daddy!" the son whispers out loud. "ABBA!" he shouts as his skip turns into a run toward his father.
If you relate more to the first son than the second son, you are not alone. Many of us feel this way toward our Heavenly Father. The mention of Him triggers guilt. Coming to Him stirs up feelings of fear, anxiety, and even worthlessness. Maybe we see Him as a disappointed Daddy or a harsh authority.
But, this is so far from the Truth. See, the Truth is that He loves us. The Truth is that He'd rather die on a tree than live without us. The Truth is He passionately pursues us and wants our love, affection and friendship.
The problem does not lie with Him. The problem lies with our thinking and the fact that we have believed the lies. Lies of condemnation. Lies that say, "Who are you to talk to God. Who are you to ask anything of Him? Who are you to come to Him? Do you know how disappointed he is in you? Do you know how angry He is with you?"
NOT ONE represents God's heart toward you!
One thing we must understand, though. We are not right before Him by ourselves. We are not righteous on our own. We can not come to Him with our own righteousness. We must come to Him knowing that Jesus did what we couldn't and because of His sacrifice, we can now come without fear.
See, the second boy who came running with joy toward his father in the scenario above didn't come because he had done everything right. He came running because he knew his Brother had done everything right.
And we can come running, too.
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