Abba! The Daddy Relationship God Wants with You

Abstract

This project is part of a longer book manuscript presenting an in-depth exploration of God’s expressed desire for a Daddy relationship with man. His desire for intimacy in his role as man’s heavenly father is presented in layman’s terms, illuminated with biblical texts and the writings of classical and contemporary authors. These texts reflect God’s desire to call him Abba, and this is a highly specialized term: "Abba is not Hebrew, the language of liturgy, but Aramaic, the language of home and everyday life … Abba is the intimate word of a family circle." - Thomas A. Smail, The Forgotten Father. A contextual base in the introductory chapter explores God’s covenant relationship with mankind while analyzing institutional obstacles that may impede the intimate parent-child relationship. The more informal tone in the remaining chapters draws parallels between earthly parents’ interaction with, training of and devotion to their own children, as the foundational claim that man is created in the image of God is applied to this setting and the argument for a similar interaction, training and devotion in a relationship between God the Father and his children is advanced and supported.