Begin with two minutes of stillness and silence before God.

My dad is a rather large man, standing at 6’5 and a modest 325lbs. He was not always known to be a patient man. My brothers and I can attest to this. Growing up, he traveled a lot and it seemed like he was always off chasing a dollar for his family. We were always cautiously excited for his arrival home from his long trips. I say cautiously because, while we were glad to have him home, we knew our mother would throw 384ft of scroll across the living room disclosing our behavior in his absence. 383ft of that scroll was usually not met with a hug and kiss, but rather the heaviest of hammers dropping on our heads. My dad didn’t play games when it came to misbehaving. He was not always the gentle giant he is today. My greatest memories of my dad are how he was ALWAYS a gentle giant with other kids, even if he wasn’t always with his own. He might have been gone a lot, but he never missed a football game. He bore the title of "Coach" and taxi driver for our Little League teams. Three times a week and every Saturday, we would pick up half of Palmer’s Crossing and take them to football. A lot of my friends and teammates came from fatherless homes. Dad taught us how to work, be responsible, and least of all, how to swim. We had a pool in our backyard, and after every game, all the guys we gave a ride to would come over and swim. Dad would ask them if they knew how to swim before he would let them in. Everyone would say, “Of course, I know how to swim." One by one, my teammates would go to the diving board, jump off in the deep end, and swim like a concrete Cadillac to the bottom of the pool. They did NOT know how to swim.

In Galatians 4:1-7, Paul describes us as children coming of age. He compares believers’ lives before salvation (as children), with their lives after salvation (as adults). In verse 3, he describes us as children “held in bondage under the elemental things of the world." He is referencing the basic elements and rituals of human religion. He describes them as elemental because they are merely human and never rise to the level of the divine.

Both Jewish and Gentile religions centered on man-made systems of work. They were filled with laws and ceremonies to be performed to achieve divine acceptance. These elements were immature like that of a child. He continues by saying that Jesus would live under the Law and redeem us so that we may be adopted as “sons” in verse 5. The best part of this passage comes in verse 7: “Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God”. Sometimes our unbelief can turn into religion, but it’s not until it turns into a relationship that we become adopted. It’s easy to get hung up on the transactional things of religion. It’s not until we truly understand what we are incapable of and what God is fully capable of that we can step into that relationship. WE NEED A SAVIOR! “Can’t never could!” We can’t keep the Law and we never could save ourselves.

In one season, my team won every game and no one drowned. I like to think that at eleven years old, my friends and I went from being children needing to be coddled to men who could toe the line and tread water. My dad always called my teammates, “son”. To this day, every one of my teammates will call my dad, “Coach,” if they see him in town, and he will call them, “son” (mainly because he can’t remember all their names). How great is it that we have a Father who has called us from an immature, child-like state into sons and daughters by faith through His Son, Jesus?

Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection:

• Read Ephesians 1:7-14.
  
• Prayer: God, thank You for Your Son, Jesus. You are a perfect and holy Father. Through Your Word, we can know You and Your promises and grow our relationship with You. Please help us to take our time captive and grow in Your Word daily so that we can mature in our faith. We love You. Amen.