Galations 4:7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, everything he has belongs to you. I don’t really have a lot to say about this verse since so much has already been said… but I really like this verse. I like the picture of me as God’s child. I like the promise that because I am His child, all that He has is also mine. Earlier Paul makes a good point though, that just because it’s mine, too, that doesn’t mean I have it all right now. It’s like if a parent dies and leaves their child a good deal of money that parent (or maybe the court) appoints someone to watch the child and the child doesn’t get all that money until they reach a certain age and can be responsible with it. Maybe part of our trouble is that we’re not mature enough to handle God’s many blessings responsibly, so He’s waiting for us to grow up before showering those on us. It’s like the teachings on stewardship and money – he who can be faithful with a little can be trusted with more. So maybe the reason we don’t have more of the blessings from God is that we, like children, haven’t learned to be responsible enough to handle the blessing in a good manner. It’s an interesting thought…
Romans 8:16 For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God’s children. I like the imagery here. First, the Holy Spirit speaks deep inside us. It’s not a surface whisper that comes and goes easily. He’s deep inside, speaking from the core of our beings. And second, he doesn’t whisper just anything. He tells us we are God’s children. And since God created that parent-child relationship, He loves us way more than I could ever love my two little ones… which is an awful lot! I think being a mommy has made me realize a lot about God’s love for me. And even though I know and can, somewhat, understand God’s love for me as His child, I’m constantly forgetting it. Anyhow, I loved those two things – about how the Holy Spirit isn’t some surface visitor; rather he’s deep inside. And He constantly reminds us of who we are and how much we are loved (not what we’ve done wrong and not that we’re anything other than greatly loved). I like it.