August 11, 2025

IN CHRIST, WE ARE WHOLE

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world. But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.” 

Galatians 4:1–5, NLT

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TODAY’S THOUGHT

Paul contrasts what we were with what we now are in Christ.

1. We Were Children in Bondage

In the ancient Roman world, when a child was born into a wealthy family, they were placed under the care of a guardian—often an educated servant. This guardian’s role was to teach, discipline, and guide the child until the age the father had appointed. Though the child was the legal heir, they had no more freedom than a slave during that season of growth and training.

This is the picture Paul uses to describe Israel’s condition before Christ came. The Jewish people were heirs of the promises made to Abraham—heirs of God Himself. Yet until Christ came, they lived under the guardianship of the Law. The Law instructed, corrected, and prepared them—but it could not free them.

When Christ came, He redeemed us—bought our freedom—from the curse and control of both sin and the Law. Through faith in Jesus, we are no longer under the guardianship of the Law, but we are reborn with a new nature. This new nature doesn’t strive to fulfill God’s law through self-effort or restraint but is empowered by the Holy Spirit to live in true obedience and joy.

2. We Are Now Adopted into the Family of God

Paul says, “when the right time came.” What a powerful phrase. God’s timing is never random—it is always sovereign and precise.

From a historical perspective, the Roman Empire unknowingly prepared the way for the spread of the Gospel. Roads connected the known world, Roman laws provided structure, and soldiers enforced peace. A shared language—Greek and Latin—allowed for rapid communication. It was the perfect moment in history for Christ to enter the world.

The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem wasn’t a coincidence. It was a divine appointment. Jesus came at the exact moment the Father had ordained.

And why did He come? To adopt us into God’s family.

Robert McGee, in The Search for Significance, writes:

“Because of Christ’s redemption I am a new creation of great worth. I am deeply loved, completely forgiven, fully pleasing, totally accepted by God, and absolutely complete in Christ.”

What a joy to know we are not just freed—we are family. We are not just forgiven—we are beloved. In Christ, we are whole.

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TODAY’S PRAYER

Holy Spirit, help me grasp the fullness of what Christ has done for me on the cross. Let me live not as a slave, but as a child of God—free, forgiven, and filled with purpose. Teach me to receive the blessings You freely give, and to walk in the new identity I have in Christ. Amen.

“Scroll down to share what you feel God is saying based on today’s reading.”