Thursday December 17th, 2015 Galatians 4:4-7
And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" (verse 6)
Perhaps you are one of those children with whom your parent knelt at bedtime and taught you to pray, “Abba, Father, Amen.” As I continue to study the scriptures in my aging years, this prayer opens a fountain of God’s love in my soul, which heals, empowers and enlivens me to be God’s child in God’s world. Yes, we are children of God, not partners, fellow workers or assistants of some type, but children of God, God’s loved children forever.
“So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God,” Paul concludes the reading for today. It is a declaration of emancipation! Leading up to this declaration in the verses before today’s reading (4:1-3), Paul describes the enslavement experienced by the peoples of the world. We are all like helpless children who own land held by guardians and trustees, waiting for the father to release it. We are all slaves to the fabric which makes up the world-death.
What a contrast in verses 4-7! Under God’s wisdom, at the “fullness of time,” God sent the Son to abolish the world’s slavery and free us to be children of God.
Abba, Father, Amen. — RH
Contributed by The Spirit’s Cry From Our Heart
Perhaps you are one of those children with whom your parent knelt at bedtime and taught you to pray, "Abba, Father, Amen." As I continue to study the scriptures in my aging years, this prayer opens a fountain of God's love in my soul, which heals, empowers and enlivens me to be God's child in God's world. Yes, we are children of God, not partners, fellow workers or assistants of some type, but children of God, God's loved children forever.
"So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God," Paul concludes the reading for today. It is a declaration of emancipation! Leading up to this declaration in the verses before today's reading (4:1-3), Paul describes the enslavement experienced by the peoples of the world. We are all like helpless children who own land held by guardians and trustees, waiting for the father to release it. We are all slaves to the fabric which makes up the world-death.
What a contrast in verses 4-7! Under God's wisdom, at the "fullness of time," God sent the Son to abolish the world's slavery and free us to be children of God.
