
God as Abba Father: A Model of Deep Love
There’s nothing like having a child look up at you and call you “Daddy.” But our relationships with our own fathers, and sometimes our own children, can be complicated.
When our kids are young, we as parents tend to be slaves to the busyness of life—trying to keep a roof over our family’s heads, making sure there’s enough money to put gas in the car, food in the ‘fridge and shoes on the kids. In the noise and stress of trying to get ahead and pay the bills, men and women, but sometimes men in particular, can tend to be less than attentive to the thoughts, feelings, and needs of the little ones around us. Maybe you’ve experienced this in your own life with your kids; or maybe you had a mom or a dad who was less than attentive when you were young.
Jesus’ Relationship with His Abba
The most hopeful model that we can have for our relationships, either as fathers or with our own fathers, is the relationship that Jesus had with his heavenly father. We see evidence of the love that the two of them had for each other at the baptism of Jesus, where God the Father audibly spoke these words: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11).
Throughout the gospels we see Jesus responding to this statement of love. He walks with his Father, prays to his Father, and cries out to him as “Abba” (or “Daddy”) during his darkest moments (Mark 14:36). Jesus’ relationship with his father is close, trusting, and intimate.
The Abba Experience
Brennan Manning, in his book The Signature of Jesus, describes it this way: “The Abba experience is the source and secret of Christ’s being, his message, and manner of life … In order to comprehend his relentless tenderness and passionate love for us, we must always return to his Abba experience. Jesus experienced God as tender and loving, courteous and kind, compassionate and forgiving.”
As human fathers, we all have regrets. As sons of human fathers, we all have things that we wish had been different. But God, the Father who loved Jesus so well, stands ready and waiting to share that relationship with us. He longs to speak with us as we look to him for guidance during our happiest and darkest moments. Manning further states, “You and I not only are invited but actually called to enter into this warm and liberating experience of God as Abba … We are privileged to share in the intimacy of Jesus with his Father.”
For Reflection
How can you begin today to walk into that same relationship with God that Jesus had?
Drawn from the NIV Men’s Devotional Bible.

NIV Men’s Devotional Bible
This Bible includes the complete text of the NIV Bible with a full year’s worth of devotions written by men, for men. The weekday and weekend devotions are engaging, practical and useful for applying God’s Word to your life today with application statements, questions for reflection and more.
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I love this teaching, God be praised through these words.
I desire a loving and trusting relationship with God our Father every single day.
A good relationship creates happiness in the family.
Very inspirational message. Our intimacy to our Abba Father is a daily requirement if we are to experience His grace and mercy.