“God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
“Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? You observe days and months and seasons and years!..
“What then has become of your blessedness?..
“So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman. For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery…
“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another…
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law…
“If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” Galatians 4:6-10,15a,31-5:1,13,16-23,25
If ignorance is bliss, then knowledge is beyond ecstasy. Knowing Jesus, and knowing that we are known by Him, the Savior and Lover of our souls, makes all the lovely difference in our lives and atmosphere. Once we know what is true about us as new creatures in Christ, we begin the adventure of sanctified living. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
We are unshackled from slavery to sin, so we are free to grow in grace and righteousness. We have been set free from selfishness and myopic living, so we can serve broadly and generously, and love with Spirit-filled abandon. We no longer are restrained to gratify desires of the flesh, so and can nourish the fire of faith and divine fruit. We have been captured by heavenly love and adopted as God’s children, so we can thrive with confidence and security as heirs and donors of all spiritual riches. (Ephesians 1:3-14; 1 Peter 1:3-5; 1 John 3:1-2)
What do we know that we know is true about our union with Christ, and how are we practically reckoning it as so? How are my work and attitudes, demeanor and interactions, distinct from those who know not Christ? (Romans 6:5-13)
Father, help me so live that I portray all that is true about the way You love, save, and live.
As the rain and snow 