Paul writes in Galatians 4 about our position with God. It is so important that we understand how God sees us as Christ Followers today. Check out what Paul tells us: “God sent forth his Son…..to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons”. There is that word again – sons – that puts us in a very special place with the Father. We are adopted into the Kingdom by the Father. We become free from the law and adopted as His sons through Jesus. What a promise. What a powerful place we have been given. I am reminded of a song our kids sang when they were young. It began with “I am a promise, I am a possibility. I am a promise, with a capital P. I’m a great big bundle of potentiality”. We have been given a promise – that as people who believe in Jesus – we will be treated as sons of God. Not just god, but the God who created the universe, who controls everything that happens, that gives breath and life and makes the world go round. That God. But wait, there’s more. “So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God”. As if being a son isn’t enough, that makes us a joint heir to the kingdom as well. We are blessed to be an heir – to inherit what God has – because of our relationship with Jesus. Does this register with you? He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. The money is all His. Everything is all His. And when we become His sons and daughters – guess what – it becomes ours as well.
That means we should not have a problem staying focused on walking with and serving Him doesn’t it? Do you struggle with losing sight of your sonship and inheritance? I know at times I do. Paul addresses that when he writes “But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world”. How is it that we can turn back and return to our former way of life when God has done everything to redeem us and draw us to Himself? What would ever possess us to walk away from the gifts He freely offers to us? From my own experience it boils down to two things – self centeredness and habits. When we lose track of what needs to be the center of our life – God and His Word – and put self in that spot we tend to run into the weeds. We lose sight of what matters. We go off the tracks and walk away from what God desires. Self is a powerful draw and it pulls us the wrong way if we don’t keep it in check. Habits are also a problem. It is so easy to fall back to the things we used to do. We have to replace the old with new habits to be able to live effectively for Him. It isn’t just a simple process. It takes work to stay the course and live up to being “children of promise” as Paul describes us. We have to keep it front and center. We have to remind each other continually. There will be times when we do that when the response won’t be so happy. Paul was getting that from the Galatians. “Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth”? But we still need to encourage each other and hold each other accountable to walk with Him. There is far too much at stake for us to be silent. You are a son of the King. You have inherited what is His. We need to live like that!
