Text: Galatians 4:1-7
My point is this: heirs, as long as they are minors, are no better than slaves, though they are the owners of all the property; but they remain under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father. So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to the elemental spirits of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.
Our status - has changed. Not because we have grown up...not because we have learned something new...not because we have become enlightened...not because we have achieved a greater level of consciousness, rather it has changed by God's action. The elemental spirits...can be literally translated as "what is put in a row" "what is put in order." The law...like a nanny keeps us in line, teaches us the alphabet...the ways things must go. The elemental spirits can be the ordering of the stars...the charts that we can count on as we sail the seas. But...they do not give us our status for life. As heirs...adopted ones at that...we are children in an intimate and close relationship with God...because God says so. God has liberated us from the many ways we have tried to sustain ourselves and make something of our selves by "putting our ducks in a row" or "getting it right" or "following the letter of the law" with the expectation that it could save us. The law...the order...the nanny who helps and teaches - is good. But we are sons and daughters - heirs of the Reign of God...because our status is changed by God
Connection: Three cheers for rules and order. Thank God for adopting us...making us God's own - no conditions - completely & even today...even today.
O God you display the mastery of your creative power in the order of life tha surrounds us. You display the fullness of your grace by holding each of us as your beloved children. Remind us of our status within your Reign and remind us of the same status that is given to those we encounter along the way. Amen.
My point is this: heirs, as long as they are minors, are no better than slaves, though they are the owners of all the property; but they remain under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father. So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to the elemental spirits of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.
Our status - has changed. Not because we have grown up...not because we have learned something new...not because we have become enlightened...not because we have achieved a greater level of consciousness, rather it has changed by God's action. The elemental spirits...can be literally translated as "what is put in a row" "what is put in order." The law...like a nanny keeps us in line, teaches us the alphabet...the ways things must go. The elemental spirits can be the ordering of the stars...the charts that we can count on as we sail the seas. But...they do not give us our status for life. As heirs...adopted ones at that...we are children in an intimate and close relationship with God...because God says so. God has liberated us from the many ways we have tried to sustain ourselves and make something of our selves by "putting our ducks in a row" or "getting it right" or "following the letter of the law" with the expectation that it could save us. The law...the order...the nanny who helps and teaches - is good. But we are sons and daughters - heirs of the Reign of God...because our status is changed by God
Connection: Three cheers for rules and order. Thank God for adopting us...making us God's own - no conditions - completely & even today...even today.
O God you display the mastery of your creative power in the order of life tha surrounds us. You display the fullness of your grace by holding each of us as your beloved children. Remind us of our status within your Reign and remind us of the same status that is given to those we encounter along the way. Amen.
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