Read Galatians 4:19-20.
In the Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32, the younger son takes his share of the estate and squanders all of his wealth. He gets to the lowest possible point, starving and desperate. At that moment, he comes to his senses and decides to return to his father. Yet, he is convinced his father will never accept him as a son after his poor choices, so he decides to ask to be a hired servant. Incredibly, when the father sees the young son approaching, he runs to him and embraces him. The younger son, despite his mistakes, brokenness, and sin, was not accepted as a hired servant, but was welcomed home as a fully loved child.
Our Savior, Jesus Christ, came into this world as a human, living a perfect life, dying on a cross for our sins to offer us new life. By faith in him, we become children of God and begin to be transformed by Jesus from the inside out. Transformation comes as the Spirit shapes us into people who live in the way of Jesus with the heart of Jesus. As Paul says in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
This Christmas, we celebrate that Christ was born, that we might be transformed. Not just behavior modification, but rather true transformation as Christ is formed in us.
Reflect + Respond:
Take a moment to really ponder these song lyrics: “I’m no longer a slave to sin, I am a child of God.” What would it look like for you to no longer live in constant fear and worry, but instead to live in freedom in Christ and his deep love for you?
By Billy Berglund