Galatians 4:3-7 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. (ESV)
We were enslaved to the world. Ephesians 2 talks about how we were dead in the trespasses and sins in which we once walked, following evil and enslaved to sin. Paul is clear in Ephesians 2 and Galatians 4, that this was how we lived, but now we are no longer enslaved.
Jesus came to redeem us from the world. Jesus took our trespasses and sins upon Himself, nailing it to the cross. Because of this, those that believe in His redemption, are no longer slaves, but children.
We are now heirs through Christ. We are no longer enslaved to the world, but are children of the promise, and heirs to the kingdom.
Are you working for God as a slave, or are you building the kingdom that you are going to live in forever, because you are a child of the king?
We live in a broken world, and it’s easy to lose sight of the kingdom we belong to--The kingdom we are heirs to...forever. But, when we lose sight of the kingdom, we forget where to store our treasure. We begin to store up our treasure on earth, and slowly become enslaved once again to the thing we’ve been freed from.
Being freed doesn't just mean leaving something behind, it means there’s something greater ahead. We must remember what we are being freed TO. Being a child of the kingdom produces in us a desire to grow it. God uses freed people to help free people. Or in other words, “broken people help broken people.” We were once broken and captives of the world, BUT GOD, being rich in mercy and love, set us free. Remember our freedom, and proclaim it to the world.
My final question is this: Do you want the king or do you want the kingdom? -- Do you want the Father, or do you just want His stuff?
Just reflect on that for a moment, and then think about it again.
The kingdom of Heaven is great because of the King on the throne. The King that loves, sacrificed His life, pours out mercy, and withholds no good thing from His children.