For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba Father.”. Romans 8:15
Growing up in church, I heard a lot about how It was our duty and sole purpose, to serve God and be “Sold out” for Christ, whatever the cost. The impression It gave was to be prepared for a hard life. Carry your cross, don’t expect much happiness in this life but be content in knowing that the next one will be better. Can you relate? Did you ever hear a preacher say that “you know it’s God’s will for you if you don’t want to do it.”? Did you fear that if you chose to serve God you were going to wind up being a missionary in some foreign land, living in a tent and practically starving because it was what a “real Christian” did? If you were spared this religious thinking, then good for you but for the rest of us, let’s just nip this in the bud. Romans chapter 8 talks about how we have been set free from the law, from sin, from fear and from condemnation because we no longer belong to the kingdom of darkness but have been adopted into the family of God. God is now our Daddy, that is what Abba means. Though there are exceptions, most dads don’t make their children do something they hate in order to prove their loyalty. They may recognize that this life will bring them suffering, but they do their best to protect them from it, not force them to walk through it.
Religion has given us the wrong impression of God. We see Him as some outside force, distant, impersonal and full of rules and regulations. The truth is that He is a father that loved His children so much that he gave His life, through His Son, that ours might be saved. Do you really think He saved our lives just to make them miserable? We have no qualms in believing in genetic traits carried down from our ancestors such as talents or ambitions. Well now that we belong to God’s family, things are carried down that way too. As we press into this relationship with our new Father, His will and desires become ours as well. Psalm 37:4 says delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. God puts His desires in our hearts, so you don’t have to worry about Him asking you to do something you don’t want to do.
I am a native Floridian. Though I have spent time in a couple of different states, I am a beach, waves and chlorine water baby all the way and will always choose heat over cold. Despite that, back in 2015, God called me to go to Charis Bible College in Woodland Park Colorado. That was in the winter, 8200 feet up in the mountains, and cold. If someone had told me that someday I would willingly move to a place like that I would have said they were crazy. But when I knew God wanted me to go and I was willing, the strangest thing happened. I actually got excited about going. It was a whole lifestyle change but I didn’t mind it at all. I got to where I didn’t even notice the cold. I loved being there so much It surprised even me. A year later when He wanted me to return home, the same thing happened. My desire to live in the south returned so much that despite the wonderful things I experienced there that I won’t get here, God is the only one that could get me back there. The point is that our father loves us. We are children, not servants. He created us so he knows better than we do what will make us happy. I like the way it’s put in the “Easy English Bible”.
The Spirit that you have received from God does not make you serve him like slaves. That would make you afraid again. No. The Spirit that God has given to you causes you to become God’s children. Now he takes care of you. God’s Spirit makes us call God: ‘Abba, our Father. Romans 5:18
We need to acknowledge our adoption as a sons and daughters and learn to trust our Daddy God. If we do, we will come to know that we can follow His plan for our lives without fear of being bound to anything that would not be good for us.
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Matthew 7:11 NKJV