Thursday 15 August 2024
So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God. (v. 7)
Background
Paul felt he had been freed from servitude to the Jewish law and was now reborn as a child of God. The concept that we are all children of God was central to John Wesley’s faith. He felt it meant every person had an inherent worth. That is why, for example, Methodist employers were called on to give their workforce better conditions. Charles Wesley embodied that idea in a hymn he wrote for masters:
"Brethren in our Creator’s eyes,
I dare not injure, or despise
the workmanship of God."
One of the reasons why the working classes responded to early Methodist preaching was that for the first time it gave them a sense of their worth. The Kingswood collier Samuel Tippett wrote about the change in his attitude brought about by Methodist preaching:
"I know I am a poor, lost, self-condemned sinner, yet my Master loves me exceedingly…. Though I am unfaithful, he is faithful. Though I stray from him, yet He keeps me…. I find his grace is sufficient for me in the time of trouble….Though I am poor, yet in Him I am rich. Though I am despised, yet in Him I am precious. Though I am black, yet I am comely."
The sons and daughters of God replaced servitude to rules with the freedom of expressing God’s love, as this hymn (550 Singing the Faith) shows:
Forth in thy Name, O Lord, I go,
my daily labour to pursue,
thee, only thee, resolved to know
in all I think, or speak, or do.
The task thy wisdom hath assigned
O let me cheerfully fulfil,
in all my works thy presence find,
and prove thy good and perfect will.
Thee may I set at my right hand,
whose eyes my inmost substance see,
and labour on at thy command,
and offer all my works to thee.
For thee delightfully employ
whate'er thy bounteous grace has given,
and run my course with even joy,
and closely walk with thee to heaven.
To Ponder:
- Does the Church today still place too much emphasis on obeying rules?
- How does looking on every person as a child of God affect our attitude to other people?
- What does it mean to be ‘Spirit-led’ in our day to day living?
Prayer
I am a child of God. Help me to accept who I am, and who you created me to be. I invite you to come into my life and empower me. Lord, may I live as your child, following the example of Jesus. If I stumble, help me to get back up and keep walking with you. Amen.
Bible notes author: Gary Best
Gary was Headmaster of Kingswood School from 1987 to 2008 and Volunteer Warden of the New Room in Bristol from 2009 to 2019. He has published over 20 books, including A Christian Alphabet, a study book for home groups.