Born Free

UV 1404/10,000 Born Free
So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

Galatians 4 v 31

Paul compares Hagar, the slave and Sarah. Sarah is the free woman and those born of the promise of God to her, Isaac and descendants as well as all of us who believe in the promises of God are born free. We are born free by faith in the promises of God, free from the penalty and power of sin, death and curse. Hagar is the metaphor for the ones who are born in flesh and are under the shadow of law and not free from the bondage of sin, guilt and death. It is the fear of death that holds people in bondage. But when we are born again by faith in the only Son of God- Jesus we, too become sons and daughters of God. When Jesus appears again, we will be like Him. Our spirits are liberated from the penalties that the law prescribes and we come under grace. We are children not born out of wedlock or out of a momentary lust. We are children born of the will of God. Faith is agreeing with the revealed will and purpose of God for our lives. We need not cry in despair like Hagar in the desert but laugh like Isaac as we are children of promise. Every promise of the Lord to us is waiting to be triggered by faith to release power, fulfilment and joy into our lives.

As children of God, we inherit His DNA. We become like Him in truth, grace and power. We share in His kingdom power, privileges and inheritance in this life and the life to come. We do not become children of God by virtue of anything we have done or by virtue of our qualities. We become children of God by grace. We are freed from the struggle to realize our better selves. We are freed from every limitation and constraint. We are freed from the fear of failure and the lust for success. We are secure and contented as we know that our Saviour will never leave us nor forsake us. The bondwoman and her offspring is in constant mortal fear that luck, success and favour would desert her at any time.
The bondwoman and her children work for an earthly master- the world and its systems. They work to please that master. The bondwoman and her children work to satisfy their earthly needs. The free work for a Heavenly master and the expansion of His Kingdom and the magnification of His righteousness. The bondwoman is a symbol of people who live in the flesh and merely satisfy its cravings and do not seek or find a relationship with their Creator and Redeemer. They are satisfied with the outer façade of man-made religion and rules. The free seek a more and more intimate relationship with the Father and Creator-Redeemer. The bondwoman lives not just in fear but in shame. The free live in honour and esteem of the Lord. The free always have a distinctive perspective and attitude compared with the bonded. This distinctive perspective leads up to a distinctive behaviour pattern, lifestyle, actions and results.

Prateep V Philip