The Rest Of Your LifeSample

Resting as a child

Imagine your heating system has failed and you call a plumber to come and fix it. You would not expect that guy to make his way to your fridge and help himself to a soda. That man is not part of your family.

But if your child came home and helped themselves to some food, it would be perfectly normal. Your son or daughter has rights and privileges in your home. Why? Because it is THEIR home too. It is where they live and where they belong. 

When do we become a son or a daughter? Some might say it is the moment we are born. That very minute you take your first gasp, you have the rights to your father’s estate. You own what he owns. Legally. You have done nothing to earn that, except breathe a bit and test out your lungs. You don’t have to work to secure that right. It is yours already. 

There is something very precious about feeling AT HOME and knowing that we fit into God’s family. But I think many of us feel more like a plumber than a prince or princess! We can work so hard FOR God but not do much in relationship WITH Him. 

In our reading today from Galatians 4:4-7 we are reminded that, 

“We are no longer slaves but God’s own sons. And since we are his sons, everything he has belongs to us...”

Isn’t that a wonderful truth? Spiritually speaking, I am a son. Therefore, I have full permission to do all that God’s child is permitted to do. I have all His authority, all His power, all His resources and all His wealth at my fingertips. This means I also have His permission to rest in total freedom. 

I am beginning to learn that living in this kind of freedom doesn’t just free me, but will also affect the people around me. As Peter Scazzero writes,

“We free the people we serve. They see a prophetic sign and wonder that we are no longer slaves to work… Our identity is in God’s love and goodness, not what we do.”

Wouldn’t you like that kind of freedom to happen in your family, your church and your workplace? 

• Ask God to enable you to rest today in the knowledge that you are His child and in a way that frees others to be who they are too.