A friend had a braai at His house and when we were busy barbequing the meat, his adopted son was playing in the swimming pool with other children. Suddenly a child came running and crying to his parents “ He commanded me to get out of his swimming pool”. He was referring to my friend’s adopted son. The child’s parents just comforted their son but did not dispute the factual claim made by the adopted son. Likewise my family, we have equal rights with Jesus Christ even though we are adopted. Once we tell the devil to get out, he should get out as if the father or Christ commands him ( not that the child is the devil but you get my drift). Christ died to take us back to the father!
Ephesians 1:5 NLT Long ago even before He made the world, God loved us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. (5) His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave Him great pleasure.
Before The Lord is my God and all scary things described in the Bible, I relate to Him as my father. I don’t care what good or bad I have done or what needs I have, my attitude would be that of a legal son through Christ Jesus.
Luke 22:29 GNB and just as my Father has given me the right to rule, so I will give you the same right.
We should not be begging or following the world but taking things by force and make them follow us! We are children of God and He is our father:-
John 1:12 ESV But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
1 John 3:2 ESV Beloved, we are God's children now, ...
Matthew 6:9 ESV Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
The law relates us to God as servants or people of some Big Boss who is waiting for us to sin so he can release his boredom on us by beating us up. The law’s malicious rod made people rebellious liker the Israelites in the Old Testament because they never knew God as their father. The grace of God draws us close to Him.
Luke 15:21-22 ESV And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' (22) But the father said to his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.
The one who disobeyed, got blessed with the best of everything that the faultless son didn’t.
Luke 15:29 ESV but he answered his father, 'Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends.
There are people who are busy doing all the “ good” so that God bless them but like in my experience, God can bless you regardless of your works. I believe that it is the heart (motive behind then works) that matters: the prodigal son’s heart repented but his brother worked to be approved.
1 Samuel 16:7 GNB But the LORD said to him, "Pay no attention to how tall and handsome he is. I have rejected him, because I do not judge as people judge. They look at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart."
I believe that on that day, we would be surprised at the people who would be entering heaven whilst they never even stepped on the church door and even worse surprise would be those that were there in every conference, serving at all services and performing miracles while their hearts are not with God (Mat. 7:22-23). They impress people by works and obeying the law while they don’t know God.
If I know my father is worried about his rusted car garage, I would fix it. I believe the prodigal son’s brother did not have any relationship with his father because he would have known the worries of the father and hence search for his lost brother. Our brother, Jesus, did when we were lost:-
Hebrews 2:11 So Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.
During the festives, we partied with my family and relatives. Some were drinking, high, falling and some performing some despicable acts but I enjoyed being around them and I would protect them against anyone because they are family.
Personally, I don’t relate to God as some mystic Spirit or someone that I hear being preached or that I read about in the Bible. He decided to let me know Him. There have been many things that I learnt from God directly that messed up my whole “knowledge” of Him.
I remember a while ago when I was still getting used to His voice when He told me to clean up the house instead of going to church just after preparation to go. I thought, “ how can You tell me not to go to church…God? ”. For legalistic people, that couldn’t have been God. The other day He told me to go to Bible School and I thought “for what?” but as usually I obeyed Him as my loving with good plans for me. I was surprised to meet other confused and weird people like me with even weirder lecturers. I felt at home.
Romans 3:20 NLT For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.
The enemy wants us to relate to God through the law so that we feel guilty or proud and that drives us away from our father. God is our father and no one can take that right from me and you!
Legalistic people don’ t love but Christ has given us the only one law to love God and one another.
John 13:34-35 NLT So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. (35) Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples."
If we don’t love one another but obey every law of the father like the prodigal son's brother, we cannot be of Christ.
1 John 3:15 ESV Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
1 John 3:17 ESV But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?
1 John 4:12 NLT No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is brought to full expression in us.
1 Corinthians 13:2 NLT If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God's secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn't love others, I would be nothing.
I heard a song , litadulu lia shumelwa ( You must work hard to enter heaven) and thought, “ what in the world, for real? I mean really! What are we saying, God’s work is not good enough? ” Salvation was never about taking us to Heaven but restore our relationship with the father (which was lost by Adam) so we can be productive here on earth where we are destined to live.
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