Advent Day 13: Galatians 4:4-7

Read & Journal

Read Galatians 4:4-7. These questions can help you as you mull over what you’ve read.

• What do these verses teach you about Jesus? About His purpose?

• What does this passage reveal about God’s character, particularly His faithfulness?

• When you read these verses, what do you learn about the kind of relationship God has called you to as a believer?

• How does it bolster your faith to recognize that you aren’t just a follower, but a child of God with the same rights and privileges as Jesus?

Ponder

Long before Paul penned his letter to the Galatians, God had promised redemption through a coming Messiah. The prophets had declared it. The people had expected it. And then, when the time was exactly right, God sent His Son. Verse 5 is clear about Christ’s purpose: He came to redeem those under the law and to adopt us as His own children.

This week’s theme has centered on faithfulness. We’ve examined Mary and Joseph’s faithfulness in what surely felt like an impossible situation, and watched Zechariah’s faith grow in a period of forced silence. But here, in Galatians 4:4-7 we see the example of God’s faithfulness. Jesus didn’t just come to be our example or be a good person, a prophet among prophets. He came as the Messiah, to become our sin and our redemption. He took the curse of the law upon Himself—our curse—so that He might set us free from sin. The goal was a relationship. Not servants, but sons and daughters. Children of God.

Let that sink in today. The radical, beautiful, outrageous truth of the gospel is that through faith in Christ, we become God’s children, with all the rights and privileges Christ Himself possesses. Not servants, who have to work to earn the Master’s favor or slaves under bondage to sin, destined to be ruled by it. We are children who can walk in freedom and light because of God’s radical act of mercy, grace and faithful love through Jesus Christ, His Son.