Abba

Oh, I love this!!!

“ ‘Abba’ was the word that was used familiarly by children talking to their fathers… A child does not always address his father as ‘father;’ he uses terms such as ‘Papa,’ ‘Dad.’ That is the kind of meaning represented by this word ‘Abba.’ It was a… word lisped by a little child… But let us notice the word ‘cry’… we cry ‘Abba, Father.’ It is a very strong word, and clearly the Apostle has used it quite deliberately. It means a loud cry… it expresses deep emotion… What then does it imply? Obviously… real knowledge of God. God is no longer to us a distant God. He is not merely a God in whom we believe intellectually, theologically, theoretically, doctrinally only. All this is possible to one who is not a child of God at all… [Our] worship and praying are spontaneous; it is the spontaneity of the child who sees the father… and not only spontaneity, but confidence. A little child has confidence.  He does not analyze it… he knows that ‘Abba’ is his father. Grown-ups may be standing back at a distance and being very formal [with some great personage]; but the little child comes running in, rushes right in, and holds on to his father's legs. He has a right that no-one else has… It is instinctive… we cry ‘Abba, Father.’”
– D.M. Lloyd-Jones, Romans 8:5-17