Jesus called His heavenly Father, "Abba"(Mk. 14:35) Abba is best translated into English as "Daddy". Obviously, Jesus had a special relationship with His "Daddy" that they both enjoyed from all eternity.
The amazing thing is that the Bible tells us that we also can refer to God our Father as "Abba. Daddy." We read in Romans 8:14 that we have received the Spirit of Sonship "And by Him we cry, 'Abba, Father.'" What does this mean? Well, for sure, it means that we can also have an intimate personal relationship with God. He is awesome. He is Holy. He is Other. He is Almighty. But He is also the believer's Daddy. But we also have all the rights and privileges that come with being a son of God. We learn in Romans 8:17 "Now if we are children, we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ..." That really says it all!
Because of God's love and the sacrifice of His Son we have all the rights and privileges of a child of God.
Apart from God, there are no perfect fathers. There are some men who express very well what God the Father is like. One of those fathers is the golfer Phil Mickelson. Several years ago he was expecting his first child while playing in the U.S. Open which he had never won. He told his wife to call him when she went into delivery and he would walk of the course, even if he was in contention, and come home. The baby was born the day after the tournament and Phil lost by one stroke. Fourteen years later that baby girl was graduating from middle school. Phil was going to be won the favorites to win the 2013 U.S. Open in which he had finished second five tines but still never won. With the tournament to begin on Thursday in Philadelphia, Phil was in California on Wednesday night to see his daughter graduate. After the ceremony he took the red eye back to Philly just in time to play in the Open. The tournament ended on Fathers' Day and it would have been a perfect ending had Mickelson won. Unfortunately he barely missed winning again.
I am sure Phil Mickelson is heart-broken But he has already shown the world and his family what his priorities are. Yes, he wanted to win one of the few titles he has never won. But his family clearly comes first. He gets my vote for Father of the Year. He demonstrated to his daughter that she is loved and he will always be there for her. He has also(perhaps unwittingly) demonstrated the how our Heavenly Father cares about us. God loves us and is always there for us.
I am sure that after Phil gets over this tough loss, he will realize that he is really considered a great man, which, for sure, trumps being a great golfer. He should know that he has encouraged all of us and reminded us of a God who loves us enough to make the ultimate sacrifice for us.
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