Galatians 3:25-26. 25But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
Think together: Have you ever had a good baby sitter? What made them good/fun?
Read together:
The Bible says that we are saved by faith in Jesus, not by keeping the law (the rules) of God. Here in Galatians 3:25, Paul calls the law our “guardian.” This is a special word that meant something like “babysitter.” The guardian was a servant who would watch the little children in the house to make sure that they behaved themselves. They were known for being pretty mean at times. They might yell, pinch, or even hit the children to get them to obey. Imagine the meanest babysitter ever, and that is what this “guardian” was probably like.
Paul is saying that is what the law is like. It is like a mean babysitter that yells at us, pinches us, and makes us feel bad because we can’t do anything right.
But when we ask Jesus to be our Savior, and when he comes into our hearts to live, we are no longer under the law, that mean babysitter. Instead, we are like grown-up children who don’t need a babysitter anymore. When Paul says that “in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith,” he means that we are adult sons.
This is the goal of everything Jesus did for us—that we would become sons of God like he is. Jesus is the “only begotten Son of God,” but, by faith, we can become the adopted sons of God (more on this later).
BTW—when Paul says that we are all sons, he doesn’t mean that only boys can be saved by Jesus or that girls turn into boys or something else weird like that. He calls us all, boys and girls, “sons” because back then, only sons could inherit their parents’ money, land, and house. Paul wants us to know that, with Jesus, everyone gets to inherit everything that Jesus does. Everyone, boys and girls, are equal before God.
Because we are sons by faith, all that is Jesus’ is ours in him. If you are a Christian, then you have everything that Jesus has. All of his love, his acceptance, his respect, his mission, and everything in the universe is ours to share with him.
Do something together: Have fun acting out what a mean babysitter would be like. Take turns being the babysitter and keep adding more “rules” as you go.
Because of Jesus: We are no longer trapped under the rules of a mean babysitter.
With Jesus: We are treated like adult children who get to share everything.
Pray: Father, thank You that You didn’t leave us under a mean babysitter forever. Help us to share Your inheritance with the world today. Amen.
