Be Like Abba: Awakening to Your Divine Identity
Part 1 of a series on discovering your divine nature
The risen Lord invites you to remember who you are—and whose you are.
James Clear tells the story of two men trying to quit smoking. When both are asked the same question—"Would you like a smoke?"—each answers differently. Which will stop sooner?
"No thank you, I'm trying to quit."
"No thank you, I'm not a smoker."
If it isn't obvious, the one who takes ownership of his identity—that he is not a smoker—will stop first, says Clear. Because change starts with identity, then systems, then habits.
But here is the deal: Who are you?
The Origin of "Be Like Abba"
The gospel is good news—shared joyfully in the home where divine identity is nurtured.
Since my children were old enough to understand words—and even before—my wife and I have striven to have daily scripture study as a family. When we first started, we talked about what we wanted. This was the impetus for me using the phrase "be like Abba."
No, this is not to be confused with the band ABBA from the 70s and 80s, but the high honor of being like God—Abba being an intimate way of saying God in a Father, even Daddy-like language used by Jesus Christ as He submitted His will to the Father's.
After years of switching between domain names, I have decided to land on this one. This one notion is the lens of lenses, by which I have studied the best books from personal development to laws of success to books of faith and spirituality.
The Awakening
When you read, study, and become the embodiment of these three words—"be like Abba"—your mind's eye is renewed, awakened, and reminded of who you are, have been, and will be! This is to have an eye single to His glory, to be filled with light, understanding, and when living filled with Truth, unto comprehending all things.
Like Madame Montessori taught, you are not an empty cup to be filled. You are filled and are the source of living and overflowing waters, when you arise from the dust and awaken the divine nature within you.
This awakening to the divine within—that you are a son or daughter of the Most High, born to be like Abba—is the key to kindling the fire within as referenced herein:
"The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled." — Plutarch, On Listening to Lectures
You are not an empty cup to be filled, but a divine source overflowing with light.
Your Divine Heritage
Kindling your mind with the idea to be like Abba ignites your heart with hope unto remembering who you are, have been, and will be. Not from the finite mortal realm only, but from the eternal realms of which you came, are in, and will be in—for life is but one eternal round. You only have the present. You only live presently. So, why not start living the abundant life, one with Christ, now.
Knowing your origin expands beyond biological parents—you are an offspring to deity—is invigorating and enlightening. You are a son or daughter of the Father of Lights. You are a being of light, meant to burn on the fuel of Love. The one which never faileth.
Imagine that: all things must fail, including lithium batteries, but Love doesn't. And unlike a battery-powered car, or even a candle for that matter, you are an eternal being who is fueled by the one thing that never fails: LOVE.
Recognizing His Hand
And how do you awaken to this love? By recognizing the love offered you. It is written that we love God because He first loved us. Do you see His hand in your life?
I'm reminded of a passenger, when I was a shuttle driver, who preached in prisons often. He told me he would gather these real tough prisoners together and acknowledge their strength, but show them they were nothing by saying, "You can't even hold your breath for five minutes without God." And he witnessed that they tried so hard to show they could do it that many would faint—but it got their attention to recognize their dependence upon God for even their very breath.
Awakening to your divine nature is like witnessing the dawn after a long night.
You Are a Being of Light
God is the Father of Lights. You are a being of light. And you are one with Him when you simply come unto Christ and allow Him to awaken the divine within you. With the yoke of Christ, you are made perfect.
Yes, you were conceived and brought into a world of sin, meaning a world that was born with the light of Christ but is often distracted from obeying that voice. Nevertheless, you were born with the light of Christ, and as you hearken to it, doing a little good here and there as moved upon by that holy influence—even a tug at the strings of your heart—you are filled with more and more of that light.
Insomuch that you begin to recognize the good from the bitter and you commence to engage in quenching the thirst for more light, which ignites the flame within you. The flame that cleaves to the good by seeking, finding, and doing it, and you forsake the false, even the dark, knowing the sweet from the bitter.
The Beginning of All
But the beginning of this all commences with knowing your True nature. Your eternal worth. Your divine heritage, potential, and inheritance in the making. Rise up to your divine identity. See God's hand in all things, including your life. He will turn all things to your good when you surrender your will to correct principles, including His law.
Even children carry divine potential—soft, wise, and full of light.
Again referencing children: "The Holy Spirit never itemizes errors because He does not frighten children, and those who lack wisdom are children" (ACIM, page 104). Wisdom is to act in the light of Christ as you know it. For as you act in this light, you are given more of it. Thus, we see the power of children that Montessori recommended tapping into:
"The child is not a vase to be filled, but a source to be tapped." — Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind, Ch. 7
Your Divine Calling
Yes, you are a divine being. Eternal in worth and power. Rise up, tap into your inner being. Become the light you know to be right, by seeking, praising, receiving, and doing good.
The only reason you may consider yourself an enemy to God is because you have accepted a false idea somewhere. Now is the time to simply turn to Him... listen with real intent for His still small voice. It is akin to the rising of the sun after a stormy night. It is fresh, full of love, soft, enriching, hope-filled, and encouraging.
When it prompts you to do good, hearken, do, become—and this light will grow in you, not only line upon line, but perfection upon perfection.
It is time to forsake lesser things and rise up to your true calling—to accept the Christ in your life, in you... to receive His yoke, to be perfected in Him, to manifest Him to those within your circle of influence, to be like Abba.
In the next post, I'll share how this became more than just an idea—how "Be Like Abba" became the lens of lenses through which all truth is magnified, and how you too can move from merely having a correct idea about God to actually knowing Him and your divine identity.