Nearly every language has a short repetitive word for “father.” For example, in English, it’s “Dada.” In Spanish, it’s “Papa,” in Indonesian, “Bapa,” and in Turkish, “Baba.”
Who comes up with these words? Babies do because humans have a primordial desire to reach out for a parent, someone who loves us perfectly and can take care of us.
That’s what our spirit is yearning for when we cry out, “Abba”:
“For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’”
–Romans 8:15 CSB
“Abba” is not just the name of a (severely underrated) band from the 70s; here, it’s the Aramaic word for “father.” It’s the realization of our heart’s desire for the One who gives us perfect, unconditional love and care.
Our earthly fathers, no matter how good they are, can’t fully fulfill that. Even good dads eventually let us down—if for no other reason than they can’t be with us forever.
And so, we go through life looking for that fulfillment and security we first yearned for when we cried out “Dada” as children. We search for it in romance, in reputation, in financial security. Some of us know we’re doing this. Many of us don’t. But the yearning is universal.
God answers that yearning in Christ Jesus, and that releases us from the spirit of slavery and the accompanying spirit of fear.
The spirit of slavery is where we need satisfaction, security, and meaning from some thing. It’s usually a good thing—money, family, romance, freedom, career. But because we need that thing to fulfill such mammoth needs, we soon become a slave to that thing.