Orthodox Jews leave off the "o" in G-d when they spell His name in English because they consider His name so holy that you cannot even spell it. How do I know this and what does it have to do with my kids? Well, besides the fact that I have some Jewish friends, I also teach World Geography at a public middle school. We just finished a unit on the Big 3 religions in Jerusalem, comparing Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Teaching about what different monotheistic religions call G-d got me thinking about what my own children call Him.
Ever since she could pray, Eden's called G-d Abba (Hebrew for "father") . This is cool on multiple levels. First, she came up with the name on her own. Katie and I never called G-d Abba before Eden started. Second, where did she get it from? We've always talked with our kids about the belief that G-d resides in the hearts of those who invite Him to be there. I guess something clicked in her heart one day and she connected with her Abba in a special way and started calling Him her Daddy. Finally, the fact that she started calling G-d the same name Jesus used for Him while on Earth is just plain awesome.
Whether it's God, G-d, Adonai, Yahweh, Allah, Elohim, Jesus, or even Abba, Eden has taught me that what a person calls the one true Diety is less important than the way they connect with Him in their heart and how well they live out the tenets of faith.
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