Children of God
Those who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s children. For the Spirit that God has given you does not make you slaves and cause you to be afraid; instead the Spirit makes you God’s children, and by the Spirit’s power we cry out to God, ‘Father! My Father!’ God’s Spirit joins himself to our spirits to declare that we are God’s children. Since we are his children, we will possess the blessings he keeps for his people, and we will also possess with Christ what God has kept for him. (verses 14-17a)
Read Romans 8: 12-17
My daughter is studying ancient Sumer at the moment. Though I wasn’t much help when it came to building her ziggurat or drawing her shuduf, I took an active interest in the religious side of her project.
For the Sumerians, human beings existed primarily as slaves to serve the gods. That’s where your God – the true God differs immeasurably from his phantom opponents. He is not cruel and hostile. He has made you his own dear child. A slave faces abuse and harsh treatment under the slavedriver. But Jesus makes you a child of God. God loves you as his own son or daughter. It is his good pleasure to serve you. When you cry ‘Abba! Father!’ God listens – not as a demanding, harsh slavedriver, but as a protective, caring and providing Father.
Heavenly Father, though I stand in awe before you, I boldly call you Father. Protect me from all harm with your mighty power. Provide me with all that is needful from your loving hand. Amen.
by Simon Cooper, in ‘Renewed Hope for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2000)
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