This devotion from John Eldridge’s Restoration Year really helped me clear some of the religious fog I was in…
You received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”ROMANS 8:15 NLT
Even though it seems like the proper thing to do, reverence for God lets in a great deal of the clutter that gets between you and God. “Papa, I come to you this morning” has a totally different feel than “Almighty God and Everlasting Father” Addressing God with a coat-and-tie formality you’d never want with your dad will end up starching the relationship. “Papa” is what Jesus gave you.
The point is not the words; the point is the fruit, their effect.
Stained-glass language reflects a view of what Jesus is like and shapes your experience of him. Whatever term you use, ask your-self: Does this sound like his actual personality? Does this capture his playfulness, infuriating the Pharisees; his humanity, generosity, and scandalous freedom?
These ways of speaking about Jesus perpetuate distorted views of his personality and keep Jesus at a distance, the polar opposite of the intimacy his entire life was committed to. It makes it hard to love him. It actually gets in the way of loving Jesus.
Listen-you can honor him, respect him, insist that others do, and never actually love Jesus. That’s not what he wanted. False reverence is a choice veil of the religious fog. It will bring a shroud between your heart and his.
Look at how you pray—is it formal? Or is it the ease of a daughter or son who knows they are loved?
Recent Comments