Redeemed to Be Heirs

Assuring Hope
Comfort for Gods People


Galatians 4:1-7 (The Message)
 ^1-3Let me show you the implications of this. As long as the heir is a minor, he has no advantage over the slave. Though legally he owns the entire inheritance, he is subject to tutors and administrators until whatever date the father has set for emancipation. That is the way it is with us: When we were minors, we were just like slaves ordered around by simple instructions (the tutors and administrators of this world), with no say in the conduct of our own lives.  ^4-7But when the time arrived that was set by God the Father, God sent his Son, born among us of a woman, born under the conditions of the law so that he might redeem those of us who have been kidnapped by the law. Thus we have been set free to experience our rightful heritage. You can tell for sure that you are now fully adopted as his own children because God sent the Spirit of his Son into our lives crying out, "Papa! Father!" Doesn't that privilege of intimate conversation with God make it plain that you are not a slave, but a child? And if you are a child, you're also an heir, with complete access to the inheritance.

For Reflection
What does it mean to come of age?  Do you  remember your sixteenth birthday?  Do you remember the anticipation of the freedom it represented? And yet you were not entirely freed to do as you pleased.  Aha, but at eighteen...  The privilege of emancipation came at age twenty one.  Between sixteen and twenty one, you began to realize that freedom came with strings.  You both enjoyed and suffered the consequences of your decisions.  Without a safety net, life is scary.  One may think he leaves the household of God, but God never abandons him.

Pray
for those who think they have to face life's challenges alone.  Pray that they will accept the invitation to turn towards God's comforting arms.  Pray that they will experience the peace only God can provide.