Children of grace
Opening Prayer
God, show me where I am with You today and where You desire me to be.
Read GALATIANS 4:21–31
[21] Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? [22] For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. [23] His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise. [24] These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. [25] Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. [26] But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. [27] For it is written: “Be glad, barren woman, you who never bore a child; shout for joy and cry aloud, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.” [28] Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise. [29] At that time the son born according to the flesh persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. [30] But what does Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.” [31] Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What action had Abraham taken in his own strength?Paul continues with his argument that salvation depends entirely on faith and is not to be defined by keeping the Jewish Law. His example of bondage to the Law is Ishmael, the son of Abraham by his slave-woman Hagar (Gen. 16:1–4). Ishmael was born out of Abraham’s desperation to have an heir—an all-too-human effort to help God fulfill his promise to give him many descendants. Paul’s example of God’s grace is Abraham’s other son, Isaac. Born to Abraham’s wife, Sarah, he was a miracle child, despite her old age, and a gift only God could give (Heb. 11:11,12). Paul adds another comparison: between the earthly and heavenly Jerusalem. The earthly Jerusalem is like Mount Sinai in Arabia, where Moses received the Law. That Jerusalem is enslaved by the Law. But the heavenly Jerusalem is a community founded entirely by God’s grace—like Sarah, the barren woman, whom God blessed with a multitude of children. In both examples, one thing is clear: God’s grace is superior!
Apply
Celebrate God’s grace in your own life—perhaps by thanking him for his gifts of life, forgiveness, community and hope.
Closing prayer
God, produce in me the works of faith, but may I never work in order to gain acceptance already given in Christ.
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