Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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Rejoice: We are elevated to the Sonship
 Dr. N. P. John


Orlando MTC, Orlando, FL

7. So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.
 
What a privilege and blessed experience it is to be elevated to the sonship and then the heir of Thy kingdom  through Christ because we are all under the bondage of this carnal world. He redeemed us with His blood on Calvary to proclaim His glory and enjoy the bliss of the eternity with Him.
 

In this passage  St. Paul was trying to dispute and convince the Jews about their wrong  ideas of Christianity, and trying to make a steadfast attempt to rectify their mistakes. Emphatically he claims that the law was given to them only till Jesus; “For Christ is the end of  the law for righteousness to  every-one who believes.” (Rom 10: 4.) Not only that, he gave a comparison of a child to a servant even though the child is the heir of his father's inheritance. “Child is father of the man” (Wordsworth, My Heart Leaps Up) 
 

St. Paul acquaints us with the Old Testament Church- Jews like an underage child, who is with a great deal of ignorance, being kept in darkness and bondage “under the elements of this” carnal world. But in comparison with the above notion the Christians enjoys a greater light, and liberty with the Grace of God under gospel. “To redeem them that were under the law” (v5) from this bondage, the parents have the prime responsibility to instruct, lead and guide the children to have an intimate relationship with God, to grow to be an adult. In another perspective, God has fulfilled His promise in His appointed time, “when the fulness of time was come”. (v.4) He sent His beloved Son to this world, to teach and lead us through His sufferings to make us to be His adopted sons. Furthermore, Father “God has sent the Spirit of His son  into your hearts” (v. 5) to give us the privilege to cry to Him at any time of  distress or happiness and addressing Him as , “Abba, Father” (v. 6). Not only that his Holy Spirit will empower us to resist the carnal and other pleasures of this wicked world. So as a son we have the right to choose the right decisions, to navigate our daily life with the Father. The Father-son relationship never fades away or outgrows as long as we have that longing to keep up an intimacy with him. The spirit of adoption is always  linked with Father God through the Spirit of prayer. Again, since we are the sons of God, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God (phil. 4: 6). We are adult children; still we can come to God the Father and cry out loud “Daddy, Appacha” and God always welcomes us into His love.

PRAYER

Our Father God, Thank You very much for Your mercy to send Your son to this world to give us the privilege to have the sonship,  to inherit Thy kingdom to eternity with You.  Give us the spiritual strength  to call You “Abba, Father” to  cry out to You with our supplications and requests along with our thanks. Give us the wisdom and knowledge to discern, to hear Thy will in our lives. In the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
 
In what ways do we relate to God as an adult.  Have we the confidence to say, “The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes I have a good inheritance” (ps. 16: 6)


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