19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,
Make no mistake about it, in the ancient world the God of the Israelites was renowned for His amazing and mighty works. Remember, the whole Jewish population was at one time the slave class of the Egyptians. We in our 21st century mindset have a hard time getting our brain around that. Through the leverage of the horrific plagues and the leadership of Moses the entire nation was liberated and the captors vanquished with enormous fanfare of supernatural intervention. Believe me all the peoples of the earth heard about how the God of the Israelites cared for them. Do you think some would be jealous and want to have been born into that family? So when Paul makes this declaration that henceforth by the blood of Christ anyone can now become adopted into the Israelite family, it was a really big deal. Remember the unique thing that God did for His chosen people was that He made a nation out of a family. Jacob's 12 sons each became the leader of a family that grew into a tribe and together they developed into a nation. No other people group can claim this, it is unique in all of history, yet we are given access to the blessings and privileges of being a part of this magnificent household. All of this is usually lost on most people, they think we are inviting them to join a religion, NO it is a family, and the strength of a family is the relationship born out of love, care, concern for your best interest and mutual acceptance of one another and trust. Is it possible for you to you enjoy these things with a spiritual Father? Yes you can. Problem is most people think that we are inviting them to join us in keeping a set of rules to live by. I can understand how they get there, but the reality is that when there is a love relationship there is no need for rules, it is only in the lack of relationship where rules are employed. Example: I love my wife, I do not commit adultery. Not because of the rule against it, I will not because I love her, regardless of the rule. In the same way when we love God we are led to live in a way that is pleasing to Him and as we love others as our selves we fulfull all the rules without even thinking about them.
APPLICATION
To be led by the Spirit today, to care deeply for others and to walk humbly with my God.
Welcome
One of the most effective ways to allow the Word of God to affect your life is to study it inductively. That is what this blog is all about. Typically one verse per day will be mined for insight and then followed up with how I plan to implement that insight practically. My prayer is that in some way you find this useful in your journey and that it may impact you positively. -G
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