Father’s Day is a day to honor and think about our earthly fathers and our relationship with them. This passage talks about our relationship with the heavenly Father and our resemblance to him. We were made in the image of God, but our sin has marred that image. Through Christ, God returns us to his family by adoption. In the Bible we read that God has only one begotten son, and that is Jesus Christ. The rest of us gain entry to the family by adoption. Have you ever thought about that?

In the Roman practice of that day, a prominent man with no heir would adopt a man who proved himself worthy. This is what happens to Judah ben Hur in the novel (and movie) Ben Hur. But God does not adopt us because he needs an heir or anything else. God does not adopt us because we were so noble and righteous—while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God chose us because of his love for us. God became our Father not to benefit himself, but to benefit us. Jesus died so our sins would be forgiven. When we trust in him alone as our Lord and Savior, we are forgiven. But it does not stop there. God not only forgives us, but he adopts us as part of the family. This is really amazing.

We are not children of God only by a technicality. We are really adopted into the family of God and have special access to God the Father. V 16 tells us that the Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. The Holy Spirit witnesses to our spirit that we belong to God, not in a vague and general way, but in a real and special way. God is our Father. So we cry out Abba, Father (v 15).

Abba is the Aramaic word for Daddy. Aramaic was the dialect that was commonly spoken in Palestine in the time of Jesus. It would have been Jesus’ first language. Abba would have been one of the first words Jesus spoke. The deepest relationship Jesus had, even greater than that with his mother was with his heavenly Abba.

The night he was betrayed, Jesus poured out his soul to God in prayer. His prayer was not flowery and ornate. It was basic, even primal. The evangelists do not record Jesus addressing God as, "Almighty and Omnipotent God, Searcher of the hearts of men." He may have prayed that way othertimes, but not that night. "Abba, Father (Daddy please!) You can do all things. Could you take this bitter task away from me? But I want to do your will, not my own."

The spirit of sonship that we receive by the Holy Spirit gives us that relationship. God is not a power out there. God is not an impersonal force or a ruler who does not care for us. By the Spirit, we know God as our Daddy: Abba, Father. Just as Jesus poured his heart out to his Abba, so we can too.

Abba, Father puts Father’s Day in a whole new light, doesn’t it? Think about your heavenly Father who is not imperfect as your earthly father. Your Heavenly Father loves you and cares for you greater than your earthly father can. You can go to him the way a child does. When a child is excited, he says, "Daddy, come look." When a child is hurt or hungry or scared in the middle of the night, she cries out for Daddy or Mama. That is now our relationship to God, our Abba, Father.

What Father’s Day gift did you get for your Heavenly Father? What God desires is for the Spirit of sonship to reign in your heart. Don’t get pulled away by the sinful way of doing things. Don’t get so busy in your self importance that you don’t rely daily, constantly on the Spirit of God. Don’t run away from your heavenly Father. Like a small child, run to him crying, "Abba."

If we are children of God, then we are heirs, it says in v 17. We are joint heirs with Jesus. There are two parts to this: one is a difficult part, the other is beyond our dreams. One is suffering—all who live godly lives in Christ will suffer persecution. The Spirit of sonship is not a ticket to ease, but a relationship with God himself. The other is glory—we read of streets of gold and gates of pearl which is to say that the glory we will experience is greater than we can imagine.

Do you have that hope within you, that you are indeed a child of God? That you will see the Glorified Christ at his return or at your return to him? Then you want to be pure as he is pure. What sin needs to be removed from your life today that will help you become more pure? Is there something that you cling to? A grudge? A lust? Pride? Let the Spirit move in your heart to help you become more like Christ.

Do you know Christ as your Lord and Savior? What a better day than Father’s Day to receive that spirit of adoption by receiving Jesus as your Lord and Savior? What better Father’s day present can you give the Lord than your heart and life?