Growing up in a large family, it was easy for me to compare myself with my siblings. Some seemed more capable in ways that I wasn’t, and at times I felt inferior. But my parents would intentionally and faithfully express their love and appreciation for each in different ways. Our abilities differed, but their love for us did not. Perhaps you know the need for that reassurance. Even as believers, we can take our place in God’s family for granted one day and worry that we do not truly belong the next. Paul speaks to both of those tendencies. In Galatians 3:28–29, he says that those who belong to Christ are one in him and heirs according to God’s promise. No distinction in background, status, or gender gives one believer a greater claim on that inheritance than another. That is why Paul can call all believers “sons of God” (3:26) with an equal share in His promise.
This newfound identity and assurance is not attained by some moral standing we achieve or from some character quality we develop. Paul tells us that, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son” to redeem us and bring us into his family (4:4–5). Then God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (4:6). When comparison makes you feel like a lesser child, or sin makes you fear you have no place at all, look to what God has done. Christ has secured your adoption, and his Spirit teaches you to come near to the Father. You can confess your sin, ask for help, and serve him freely—not to earn a place in his house, but because, in Christ, you belong to him. –Pastor Nate
Sunday at Liberty
9AM: BTH–Jonah–The Flight of Mercy: Overcoming a Hard Heart
10AM: Pastor Nate–No Other Identity than Sons–Galatians 4:1-7 (sermon notes)
3:30PM: Flagstone Service