You are no longer a slave, but a son

Galatians 4:6-9 (NIV)

Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?

We all have friends in our lives, but at different levels of friendship, from casual to intimate. At the lowest level of friendship, maybe a better word is “relationship” are acquaintances where all you say to each other is “hello”. Then there are those where you might say more than “hello”, but the conversation is very superficial and you really don’t know one another (although, sadly, for some relationships, you do wish you could get to know another person better). Then you have friends who are people who you know a lot about, their jobs, their family, their likes and dislikes, people that you likely have lunch or dinner with once in a while. Then there are the really close friends, people with whom you trust and can share your true emotions. These are people who you would call at 3 in the morning, knowing that they would help you if you needed it. The final level of friendship is the intimate kind of relationship found between a loving husband and wife and, perhaps, between very close siblings.

Jesus desires the intimate kind of relationship between you and Him, yet does that describe your current relationship with Him? He wants to be closer to you than your spouse, father, mother, brother, sister, whoever (Prov 18:24, Matt 10:34-37)…..but is that the case with your life? Likely not, at least not yet. Most Christians relate to Jesus like you relate to one of the first four levels of friendship just described, but not yet the intimate level where you relate to Him stronger and more personally than anyone else.

Paul is describing an intimate relationship between God and His children (Christians). Christians are sons of God through Christ. Believing in Jesus, deciding give over your life to Him (being reborn) qualifies you as a son (or daughter) of God. Your sincere desire to live your life under His control brings His Holy Spirit into the center of your life (heart). The Spirit refers to God at “Abba”, an Aramaic word literally meaning “Daddy”. That is what Jesus called God in Mark 14:36. Your acceptance of Jesus as your Savior and Lord and the entrance of His Spirit into your heart transforms you from being a slave to sin to being a son of God. As a son of God, you also are an heir to everything He has, everything. You become an heir to His kingdom, power and glory that you can experience to some degree here on earth and to a fuller degree in eternity. You inherit eternal life that only faith in Jesus provides.

What a question Paul asks.......why in the world would you ever want to return to the gods of your former life? Those gods were whatever were controlling your life before you decided to let Christ control it. Those gods----greed, sexual immorality, selfishness, lying and cheating, worshipping the wrong people, position and power and so forth---were weak and miserable (they made you weak and miserable as a person). Why would you ever want to return to them?

What, in your life, reveals that you are a son and heir of God? What weak and miserable god might still be remaining from your former life as a slave to your sinful nature?