From Slaves to Heirs

Date: Friday, December 19, 2025

Readings: 2 Samuel 7:18–22 | Galatians 4:1–7

Paul continues to speak to the Galatians of an astonishing shift: we are no longer slaves but children of God, heirs with full access to the Father’s heart. Paul contrasts life under the old constraints with the freedom of adoption. This isn’t theoretical theology, but a lived invitation to step out of spiritual scarcity and into divine abundance.

It's not uncommon for many of us to feel like spiritual orphans, earnest but exhausted, trying to prove our worth. Advent proclaims a different story: God sends His Son so that we might become sons and daughters. The Spirit cries within us, “Abba,” reminding us that intimacy rather than insecurity is our starting point.

Galatians 4:1–7 challenges the narratives we internalize from culture. We are not what we produce, what we earn, or what others think. In God’s family, worth is inherited, not achieved. Freedom flows from identity, not effort.

Devotional Prompts:

• Where do you still live as if God’s love must be earned?
• What would change if you truly believed you were God’s beloved child?
• How might this identity shape your interactions with others?

Prayer:
Abba Father, free us from the chains of striving. Teach us to live as Your beloved children, resting in Your delight and extending that grace to those around us. Amen.