A God by any other name?...

I am currently (finally) reading "The Shack" by William Young. While I'm not far enough into it to give my full review yet, it's already putting some bloggable thoughts and questions into my head.

If you haven't heard of this book, well, you're living under a rock in Peru. (A Peruvian rock?) One of the reviews on the back has hailed it as the "Pilgrim's Progress" of our time. Well, five chapters in, I'm not sure I'd go that far, but it is a fascinating perspective on who God is, and what a commanding presence He is in the lives of THE ELECT. (Okay, so I don't think the book goes into that particular doctrinal issue, but reformer that I am, I'm reading between the lines!)

Anyhow, I will get into the plot of the story later, in my official review. But in the book, the main character's wife refers to God as "Papa." God also reveals Himself to Mack as "Papa."

I am on the fence about this... I don't understand where the line is between impersonal and irreverent. "Abba", which is a popular name for God, is arguably the Aramaic word for "Daddy." I Googled the word Abba and came across an interesting article by James Barr in the Journal of Theological Studies called "Abba Isn't Daddy." I have to admit, I didn't understand a lot of the article... it was a bit too much academia for my meagerly educated mind to grasp. There was a lot of detailed language translation involved, but basically what it was about is that Abba is not Daddy; it is the more formal 'Father.' Yet, in a direct answer to this article, Gordon Fee stated in his book God's Empowering Promise
that it could be translated as either, since it was used as a term of paternal endearment by adults as well as children.

Whatever. If we're still arguing about that after all these years, the exact translation and meaning may never be known as fact. My question is, isn't using such familiar terms with respect to the Lord irreverent? I mean, I don't refer to God as Buddy or Pal when I pray, although He IS in fact the best friend I could ever have. In the same way, He is the ultimate paternal figure in the lives of the believers, a.k.a. his children. But as our Creator, Redeemer, and Ruler of all, I'm inclined to believe that more informal terminology is appropriate. Father. Lord. Saviour. God. But then, is that a clear picture of the true intimacy of my relationship with Him?

Maybe I'll never be sure. As my relationship with God changes daily, maybe so should the names I use for Him. Sometimes he is a close, familiar friend, and at other times he seems, while still holy and wholly God, more distant to me. Maybe whatever name we use for Him works, as long as we continue to call on Him.