'Come closer, come to me',
The man from Nazareth said.
'Come closer, come to me'.
As he performed miracles and people rose from the dead.
But many held back,
Especially the religious leaders of the day.
But many held back,
Through sheer formality.
Some wavered, but were told by their leaders of magnitude,
'God is the Almighty, not the all-matey', show respect, my friend.
Some wavered, but were told
To keep their distance, to show gratitude.
But the Holy Man came closer, breaking all the rules,
And he saw me; I am so glad.
But the Holy Man came closer, breaking all the rules,
And softly spoke, 'God says you can call Him 'Dad''.
He went on to speak truths of old,
Truth that had been forgotten or changed by formality.
He went on the speak truths of old.
He opened my eyes, and now I 'see'.
Some pushed me back, some scolded me,
And some just plainly didn't understand or care.
Some pushed me back, some scolded me,
But the God-Man smiled and blessed me, in that market-place, there.
And today? Those leaders are still there keeping many at a distance,
From the One who came with a loving heart
And today? Those leaders are still there keeping many at a distance,
But now you have a choice to start!
The Voice still calls, 'Come closer, come to me',
In the country, deserts or city streets His heart beats.
The Voice still calls, 'Come closer, come to me',
Will you 'hold back', be too formal, or run to the One who is your Heavenly Dad'.
So draw closer and risk the scorn of a few.
Some say it's presumptuous. They say it's bad.
So draw closer and risk the scorn of a few.
For it is God who says we can call Him, Abba, 'Dad'.
--ooOoo--

Jesus walked the Earth some two thousand years ago and swept away barriers! The 'gap' between G-d and man was destroyed as graphically symbolised in the Temple curtain being torn from top to bottom. He upturned umpteen laws and His followers were criticised for picking corn to eat on the Sabbath etc. It seems that He upset the religious leaders of the day. They believed rigid observance to the Law would usher in a 'golden age' and bring people closer to G-d, and so gave the common man more and more burdens to follow. Unnecessary one! Jesus was different...He believed in 'relationship'.
And now two thousand years later, many religious leaders are in the same vein as those pharisees of old, and (still) say 'don't do that', 'do this', 'if you do what we say then you can be im membership', and so it goes on. Where is that Jesus simplicity? Where is grace? Where is the love? Have we forgotten the simple, but profound Truth?
G-d? Jesus called Him 'abba'. Now, many translate that word as 'Father', but it's more intimate than that! Some translate it as 'Papa', and that's closer, sure, but it's still not intimate enough, and in many cases using that word betrays our 'aloof' middle-class nature, our 'mustn't-get-too-close-t- G-d' attitude' as though we prefer distance between us and G-d. Are you sitting down? Ready for the shocking news? The term is better translated as 'dad' or' daddy'!
Now, I know that sounds irreverent, too cosy, too familiar, too intimate, too informal, too friendly...but you know what? He said we could call Him 'dad'! If you don't like it, that's cool. I won't judge you if, 'textually' you want to distance yourself from God and use another term....but please don't judge me as I get closer still to G-d and call him 'dad'. And hey, you know what? Im holding out my hand...so why not put your hand in mine and both of us walk slowly toward our Heavenly Dad.