During my prayer time this morning, I camped in Galatians 4-5 where it talks about not only our new identity in Christ but also our call to refuse the yoke of slavery now that we are free.

The first few verses in Galatians paint a picture of the limitations of the law. To live under the law is like being a child who is an heir to a great inheritance but has no access to it because he is a minor. Others are in charge of what belongs to him. In that regard, the child is the same as a slave, told what to do and when to do it, with no vote on how to appropriate the riches that have been set aside for him.

But now that Christ has come for us, we have been made rightful heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ! Even if you’re a young child who walks with Christ, you are a full heir. If you’re an old person with a baby walk of faith, you’re a full heir. We’ve been given full access to the riches of heaven that we might carry out the cause of Christ on earth.

Read this great passage from the Message paraphrase (Galatians 4:6-7)

Thus we have been set free to experience our rightful heritage. You can tell for sure that you are now fully adopted as his own children because God sent the Spirit of his Son into our lives crying out, “Papa! Father!” Doesn’t that privilege of intimate conversation with God make it plain that you are not a slave, but a child? And if you are a child, you’re also an heir, with complete access to the inheritance.

It’s so easy to get bogged down with our limitations, our badness, our stuff. But we have to shake off the chains that trip us up and remember once again who we are and whose we are! To live like an heir is to walk in the riches of God’s grace that we might be reliable messengers of His love to a lost and dying world. We have everything we need in Christ Jesus. May we walk in the wealth of who we are in Him.

What parts of your ‘spiritual identity’ are you walking in, and what parts to you still long to lay hold of? I’d love to hear from you!