Who Am I?

Ok, I know. To most I am “Dave.” To others, I am “David.” To my former students, I am “Doc.” To my doctor, my pharmacist, and cops… “Bruce.” To Carol, I am “Sweetie…” one of my favorites. To some who don’t know me, perhaps, “Mr. Liles.” To Brit and Janea, I’m “dad.” To my three grandchildren, Bella, Jovie and Dexter, I’m “Papa.” I love that one also. Anyone who does not like me…I don’t wanna know.

I am also Bruce and Viola’s baby boy. To Marian, Anita, and Buddy, I am their younger brother…reminding me how I used to be a pain in the neck when I was little…but they have learned to live with that. I am a husband, a father, a grandfather, a brother, a son, an uncle, a former colleague, a retiree, a cousin, a citizen; all of these at the same time.

Lately, however, I have asked myself who I am to God. I could say I am a follower of Jesus Christ…and I am. I could say I am a disciple…at least I’m trying to be. But Jesus changed the whole picture when he called his Father, “Abba.” This is a Hebrew term used by young Hebrew kids to refer to their “dad,” or “daddy.” The Jews of Jesus day, and prior to that, would not even speak his name (yahweh; the original Hebrew did not have any vowels)…he was too sacred, too removed, in a sense, to be labeled. That makes what Jesus did absolutely scandalous. No one, under any conditions, ever referred to God in an intimate way like that…until Jesus did.

I have to confess, however, I am not comfortable calling God “Daddy,” as some do. I refer to him as “Father.” Somehow referring to the God who is his own eternity as “Daddy” seems awkward to me. He is transcendent, living beyond time and space, perfectly holy, complete, and beyond comprehension. He is also immanent, or with us all the time. He is guiding my thoughts as I write this. But for me…not anyone else, mind you, just me…calling him Father is most comfortable.

This does raise a point. I recently came across (or the Holy Spirit gave it to me) the idea that I am a child of God. I am a son of God (small “s”). Where does this come from? What does the Bible say about this? I found some scriptures that speak to this. All of these are from the NIV.

Galatians 3:26
So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith

Romans 8:14
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

Romans 8:16,
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.

John 1:12-13
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

2 Corinthians 6:18
And, "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."

We have our earthly identity, we belong to a family, and have other relationships in life that help to identify who we are. But perhaps the most important one, the one with eternal significance, is the fact that we are children of the Almighty; his sons and his daughters. This is accomplished when we enter the family of God because of the work of Christ, and are sustained by the Holy Spirit.

So, next time someone refers to you as “brother” or “sister” return the compliment. After all, we have a Big Brother, Jesus, the Son of God (capital “S”) and a heavenly Father watching over all of us.

Praise and thanks be to our Father.