free children of God

Good morning all,
The first part of our reading today will be familiar to those of us in church last Sunday. Paul's argument here is that while we were immature in our faith we needed to be guided by fixed rules like the law. But when we come to faith in Christ we no longer need those things. In Christ we become adopted children of God, filled with the Holy Spirit and free to follow God in love.

He uses the term "elemental spirits" twice in this passage. It's not entirely clear what he means by that. Some people think he's referring to basic facts of life such as food, air, water. In other words, before we came to Christ we were totally absorbed in the basic details of being alive, but now that we know Jesus we see that there is more to life than material things. Other people think Paul is talking about spirits the pagans thought were associated with the traditional elements: air, water, earth, fire. In that case he would be talking about worshiping other gods before we came to Christ. In both cases Paul's point is that now that we are Christian, we should be beyond slavery to smaller concerns. We shouldn't feel compelled to follow the law or to hold on to traditions that we held before or be trapped by thinking about material things all the time. Instead we can follow God in joy however God leads us.

Blessings on your weekend,
Sam


Galatians 4:1-11
My point is this: heirs, as long as they are minors, are no better than slaves, though they are the owners of all the property; 2but they remain under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father. 3So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to the elemental spirits of the world. 4But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. 6And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

8Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods. 9Now, however, that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly elemental spirits? How can you want to be enslaved to them again? 10You are observing special days, and months, and seasons, and years. 11I am afraid that my work for you may have been wasted.