August 20, 2010, Galatians 4

Key Verses:


"But when the right time came, God sent His son, born of a woman subject to the law. God sent Him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that He could adopt us as His very own children. And because you Gentiles have become His children, God has sent the Spirit of His son into our hearts, and now you can call God your dear Father. Now you are no longer a slave but God's own child."


(Galations 4:4-7)


Central Truth:


We are all children of God - no one any better than the other, and no one more deserving than the other. All are held accountable for our words, our thoughts, and our actions.

WITH PRIVILEGE COMES RESPONSIBILITY


Being accepted into God's family is an awesome honor, but with this beautiful, wonderful privilege comes responsibility and accountability. We are accountable to God just as our children are accountable to us. I am not meaning for this to sound like it is a negative thing because it most definitely is not. Most people want to make others proud of them. Take, for instance, your children. They want nothing more than for you to smile, hug them, tell them that they did a great job, and tell them how proud you are of them (even if it is something as simple as brushing their teeth). We, on the other hand, love to get recognized by our spouses - good job on the dinner babe, or thanks for keeping such a clean house. A hug or an I love you goes a long way too.


Well, God in Heaven is no different. He wants and needs your attention too. He wants to have daily conversations with you. He wants you to take time to read and study His word. He wants you to develop a closer relationship with Him. His word, the Bible, is our instruction booklet and through these instructions, He wants us to get more involved with other people (family, friends, foes, strangers, the unsaved, etc). We can do this by following the great commandment of loving others, carrying out God's great commission of witnessing to others, and through the great commitment of serving others. All of these things make our Father, God smile!

None of us are too great, too important, too intelligent, too wealthy, too clean, too evil, too ignorant, too poor, too lazy, or too dirty to have a relationship with God our father. So sit back and relish in the fact that you are indeed a child of the almighty God. But remember that with any privilege comes responsibility. Take your part seriously.

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for taking me into your family with my "warts" and all. I am so unworthy of this honor, but I am going to do my best today by loving, witnessing, and serving others. Please be in my words, my thoughts and my actions as I try to do my part. I want nothing more than to make you smile. Thank you Jesus. Amen.