Hello creative friend!
This is week ten of twenty in my Freedom Friday posts on Identity in Christ. These blog posts are based on my I Am Journal and I hope you are joining me on this journey whether you own the journal or not.
Our truth topic today is: I am God’s child!
As I talk about being God’s child today I want to get more specific about the difference between being a child (son or daughter) and being a slave. We know through many scriptures that for those who believe in Jesus we have been adopted and are children of God. Although we have been adopted, many of us choose to continue to live as slaves to religion with all it’s rules and regulations. We fail to see how safe and secure we are in our daddy’s arms. When we live as slaves, we work hard to try to earn God’s love and approval. Our relationship is all based on performance and how much we can do. On the other hand, a child is loved and accepted no matter what they do. Children have a sense of belonging while slaves are always longing for something more. Slaves have no say, children get to be heard by their Father. Children have an inheritance, slaves own nothing.
“I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters,” says the Lord Almighty (2 Corinthians 6:18).
The enemy of our soul would love nothing more than to make us see ourselves as a slave. He knows that if we would see ourselves as God’s child, we would be unstoppable in moving God’s kingdom forward. He knows that if we don’t know our position as a child of God then we will act and live as slaves which is almost as bad since we are essentially saying no to freedom and privilege. We can’t live a victorious life while holding onto a slave mentality. The two can’t co-exist. A daughter will still act like a daughter, even in difficult circumstances. A slave will still act like a slave, even in great conditions. A slave mentality is difficult to overcome but blessed are those who have Christ who makes all things possible.
The perfect example of a someone with a slave mentality is the brother of the prodigal son. He worked so hard to please his father doing all the things that performance demands. He didn’t understand what it meant to be a son at all. His thoughts were ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders…(Luke 15:29) He had no idea how to relate in a son/father relationship. It was all about being the perfect obedient son, working to please and nothing about love and devotion. He was angry that the father was showing his brother unconditional love. His religious pride gave him a huge sense of entitlement. He didn’t want his wayward brother to find acceptance and belonging for free, instead it seems like he wanted him to suffer for it. He wanted to be the favorite, he wanted to be celebrated and he wanted his slavery to pay off.
Sadly, I know what it’s like to be like the brother. I’m familiar with living like a slave instead of living like the daughter of the king that I am. I know what it’s like to live in the pressure of performance, trying to earn God’s approval instead of resting in His unconditional love. I know what it’s like to live by rules, mostly man made one and be scared to ever step out of line for fear of getting into trouble. I get mad at the brother because of his lack of mercy, compassion and grace yet I use to be just like him in a lot of ways. Like the father, God is saying to me ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours’. I don’t have to work to be His daughter, I just am and what freedom that brings!
Next I think of Joseph. He knew what it meant to be a son. Even when he was in terrible situations he knew who he was and didn’t give into a slave mentality. In prison he could of felt sorry for himself and give all the reasons why he had the right to be bitter and miserable about his life but instead he rose up to his calling and used the situation as training for the future. When you know who you are, you can’t be kept down. Don’t lose sight of who you are, you are the daughter of the most high king, God Himself!! You are not a slave so don’t act like one! Religion makes you a slave and I can promise you, you’ll never be good enough to meet it’s demands. Relationship on the other hand is what makes you a daughter who is unconditionally loved as she is. No performance needed.
Is your obedience to God driven by duty or fear of punishment or is it driven by love and devotion to Him? One makes you a slave while the other makes you a daughter. Tweet That!
Do you approach God like a little girl who adores her daddy or do you approach him reluctantly like He’s a hard task master? A daughter knows she is safe and secure in the Father’s love. She knows that even when she messes up, she is still loved. She knows that her daddy will take care of her no matter what and she know her worth. She knows that she is no longer a slave but a daughter, and if a daughter, then an heir of God through Christ (Galations 4:6-7). A slave on he other hand performs and works hard trying to earn approval. When the slave messes up, she has a hard time accepting forgiveness and may punish herself to make up for her failure. She tries to follow all these religious rules and never measures up. She feels like she could never be good enough and is desperately trying to earn love in one way or another.
Which one do you want to be? A beloved precious daughter or a slave?
“Sonship is a heart that feels at rest and secure in God’s love; it believes it belongs, it is free from shame and self-condemnation, it walks in honor toward all people, and it is willing to humble itself before man and God. It is subject to God’s mission to experience His love and to give it away.”
― Jack Frost, Spiritual Slavery to Spiritual Sonship
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe in His name. (John 1:12)
Here are biblical declarations that you can read out loud every day. Declare truth over yourself daily and you will soon believe it! I have included a free printable for you to use, enjoy it!
1- Through faith in Jesus Christ, I am God’s child. (Galatians 3:26)
2- God says that I am His child and that He is my Father. (2 Corinthians 6:18)
3- I am no longer a slave, but a daughter and an heir through God. (Galatians 4:7)
4- I have received Jesus and believe in Him which gives me the right to be God’s child. (John 1:12)
5- God covers me with His feathers, and under His wings I find refuge. (Psalm 91:4)
6- How great is the love the Father has lavished on me, that I should be called a child of God! And that is what I am! (1 John 3:1)
7- I am God’s daughter and He has sent the Spirit of Jesus into my heart, which calls out, “Abba, Father.” (Galatians 4:6)
8- God does not reject me because He was pleased to make me his own. (1 Samuel 12:22)
9- I did not receive a spirit that makes me a slave again to fear. Instead, I received God’s Spirit when He adopted me as his own child. Now I call him, “Abba, Father. (Romans 8:15)
10- God is with me and takes great delight in me. He rejoices over me with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)
I pray that this week you will see yourself for the daughter that you are and if you are walking in slavery at all, that you will take the first step into freedom!
