My Heavenly Papa

As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.

John 1:12 NKJV

I have fond memories of being with my daddy while I was growing up:

• Learning to roller-skate down the sidewalk at the park, Daddy holding me up with one hand and my sister with the other.
• Walks through the woods surrounding our house on lazy Sunday afternoons.
• After-supper strolls to watch the sunset.
• Entering our church to worship together nearly every time the doors opened.

On all these occasions, and more, I reached for his hand. Because he was my daddy. The one who loved me with that special kind of love offered by no other. And to reflect that intimate, unique relationship in which we shared so much joy, I sometimes called him “Papa.”

You may have noticed that I often refer to our heavenly Father as “Papa God.” I began using this warm, intimate, protective name twenty years ago after studying scripture like today’s verse describing our loving adoption by God, and various translations like Romans 8:15 (MSG) that interpret the familial biblical name for our heavenly Father, Abba, as “Papa” or “Daddy” in modern vernacular. I love that, don’t you? Out of all the names for God in the Bible, can you think of one that could more accurately portray our precious daughterly relationship with our heavenly Father?

I realize that many of us didn’t have warm relationships with our dads while growing up, and maybe not as adults either. My heart goes out to my spiritual sisters who bear pain or regret about fathers who didn’t love them enough. But isn’t it amazing that we have a heavenly Daddy who wants to lavish all the love in the world on us?

Prayer: Thank You for adopting me into Your family and becoming my Papa God. Teach me how to recognize and accept Your unconditional love as we spend valuable father-daughter time together. Amen.