“An acquaintance of mine used to refer to Christ as “My buddy JC” - and it bothered me to no end.”
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You have a point.
At the same time, the Lord DOES invite us to speak to him as our Father, and that means a relationship that’s close enough for a little humor and a certain amount of informality.
But a certain amount of informality =! disrespect, which is a danger.
Exactly. My acquaintance actually used to say "My little buddy JC."
That's even worse.
But you are correct - the Bible says we are given the privilege of calling out to "Abba Father." That is akin to calling him "Dad." God loves us intensely.
I approach Christ with awe and respect, but sometimes I am guilty of not doing so. Also, many times I have sinned, and then His words come back to me: Luke 6:46 "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?"
I think the really good news is that Christ lowered Himself to become a man, and knows what it is like to walk around in our skin. The Bible says He was tempted in all ways that we have been tempted. He knows what is like to have greed, envy, and even lust - but He was sinless in that temptation never crossed over into sin. But He understands.
You have a point.