Faith & Love: A One Year Bible Reading Plan - Part 3Sample

I grew up thinking of God the Father as an old man with a long grey beard who was very displeased with me. He would sit on a big throne far away, looking down on what I did right, but mostly what I did wrong and where I made mistakes. I often felt I did not have “what it took” to please Him. I felt trapped like a slave in a system where no matter how hard I tried, I could never reach up to Him, get close to Him or even be loved by Him.

But reading through Galatians 4 made me realise just how wrong I was! God has done everything for me to be liberated from dead religion, to be freed from the slave mindset that my “performance”-religion demanded. All I had to do was accept that I truly am a son of God. That I am part of His family, that I can have unlimited access to Him. That I can get as close to Him as I wanted to get!

I love the Amplified translation of verse 6: “And because you [really] are [His] sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba! Father!” The meaning of “Abba! Father!” is literally the way small children would informally address their father! I love this because I can understand it – when my children run to me and call out to me, there is NO doubt in their minds and hearts that they belong to me and are part of my family!

What one thing would you change about yourself today if you fully knew and believed that you truly are a child of God?