10/08/2018 -
Are we like a slave in our Father’s house, or is it time to step forth and become what our Heavenly Father has desired for us from before the moment we were born? Are you ready to hear and assume God’s will for you, or are you clinging to the life of a child in His house?
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”
Galatians 4:4-5 ESV
Jesus lived in a time when there were servants and slaves. I have found it interesting, and perplexing, that God chose that particular time to bring His Son into the world, but He did, and the references to slavery, and the symbolism of servitude, is rich in both the Old and New Testaments. Paul used such in his letter to the Galatians, and it is very effective. Listen to these words...
“I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father.”
Galatians 4:1-2 ESV
There is always a perfect time for God to do the things He does; a perfect time to lead the nation of Israel out of Egypt, a perfect time to send His Son Jesus Christ into the world to redeem us, a perfect time to draw you to Him through His Holy Spirit, and finally, a perfect time to call you into adulthood by your adherence to faith and His will. There is a wonderful scripture regarding this in Ecclesiastes that is worth reading again in its entirety ( Ecclesiastes 3:1-8), but it begins like this...
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 ESV
Is this a time for you to be plucked up? Is this the time when God has already planted his seed in you, tended you, and is now calling you to yield fruit for His table? Is this the moment when you are to cease being the child who is no different than a servant in His Father’s house, and become the heir and master of it instead? Is this your perfect time? Has the Holy Spirit been sent to fetch you to come before the Father to receive His blessing?
“And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"”
Galatians 4:6 ESV
I knew a man who started a hardware store after WWII, and he built it into a profitable business. This man had two sons, and for years they worked after school in their father’s store. This father didn’t do this to make his sons lifelong employees, but to teach them how to be owners, masters, and heirs to this business. Then there came a day when he called them to him and realized his dream of making them his heirs. The boys were no longer just children working in their father’s store, but owners of it. The time was right for them to receive the fullness of being their father’s son.
“So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”
Galatians 4:7 ESV
So it is with us spiritually. We work in our Father’s house, but His desire is for us to one day become heirs to it with Jesus. Knowing this we must ask ourselves continuously... where am I in the process of becoming an heir and master in my Father’s house? Are you listening, learning, and obeying? How far down the road towards righteousness have you traveled, and are you still walking, or just resting along the way?
The owner of the hardware store had two sons, and he had to determine, when the time was right, to either make them joint heirs, or to pick out just one to receive his store, and to become its master. The decision was his alone to make, but preparation and readiness had much to do with his boys. Would they learn from their father? Would they love it as he had? Would they have any interest in it at all? When God looks at us does He see men and women that are ready to become His heirs, or children who will remain in their brother’s house as servants? This is what you must determine to either achieve... or not. Will you be the master, or servant? Righteous, or not... where do you wish to be, and where are you now?
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for reaching out to me and planting the seed of faith within my heart. I thank you Holy Father for your desire that I become an heir and joint heir with Jesus, and that you have sent your Holy Spirit to prepare me for that day. Help me Father, and strengthen me as I yield myself to your will in this matter. Open my heart, mind, and soul to who you are, and feel the love I have for you as I am being taught to be more than a servant in your house. I humble myself before you Lord, and serve you as a son who honors his father in all things. Let my will be yours Merciful Lord, and as I obey, help me to see the wisdom in your ways, and desire to be as you are always. Keep me in your house forever; first as a child, then as a young man, and finally as your heir... serving you in all these capacities as the son who loves you now and for forever. Praised be your name Gracious Father, and Holy, Holy, Holy, are you and your house forevermore.
“But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?”
Galatians 4:9 ESV
Rich Forbes