Monday 3rd July - Galatians 4

Today’s chapter is Galatians 4

Tom writes:

You are no longer a slave but God’s child. And since you are his child, God has made you also his heir. Oh wow. This is another fabulous feast about the favour of our Father. And a further revelation of the frequent folly of his flock. At root the problem with the Galatians is that they don’t believe what God has told them. The artisan coffee machine has been installed in their kitchen. Their own personal barista would come at the click of a finger and craft them a beverage that is beautifully bespoke. And yet they aren’t drinking the coffee. In fact, they are on the phone to Uber eats to order a greasy spoon’s “Flat White”. One of the greatest issues in the church today and throughout history has been the unwillingness of Christians to actually draw on the bounty that God has made available. They create a whole range of difficult and boring processes to try to achieve what God is more than ready to give them.

It could be people who hold back from receiving prayer or people who create theologies about the gifts of the Spirit not being available today. It could be people who don’t receive the free forgiveness for their sins or people who turn a blind eye to the beautiful wisdom of the word. Over and again the problem for Christians has been that God has been dwelling in them, the Spirit has been hovering over them, Jesus has been ready and waiting to pour out his grace on them… and they have spent most of their energy getting stressed and anxious about how they can cope with their life. Drink the coffee! Be filled with the Spirit. Get the bread in your head by reading what God said. Do the stuff; and let Christ be formed in you. God is so abundantly good and so abundantly available. He doesn’t do everything you want and to engage with God does take effort on your part but God is abundantly good. God is abundantly available. So live like a child of the great and generous Father who has made you an heir of all things.

Question for reflection

What would it look like for you to more consciously live as an heir of all that God owns?