“Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.” Galatians 3:23–26
My wife and I try to have a date night once a week, or at least once every other week. We have some terrific people who we trust to leave our four young daughters with. When we come home, our expectations are that the babysitter has fed my kids dinner, had them brush their teeth before bed, kept them safe as they play, and the like. However, I do not expect that the babysitter will do those things permanently. As a parent, I take those responsibilities on myself—along with a whole lot more!
In this passage from Galatians, the word translated as “guardian” was often used in the ancient world to refer to a slave who would help take care of the children on the parents’ behalf. Perhaps the closest equivalent we have in American culture is a nanny. Everyone who has been a parent or who has been a babysitter knows that there is a world of difference between the two.
In the Old Testament, God gave Israel the law to keep them in line, so to speak. The law was a guardian, a babysitter, a set of training wheels. But now—with the coming of the promised Messiah, his death, and his resurrection—God’s people have something much better than a babysitter. We have received adoption into the family of God. God himself is our Father!
Today, you will face many choices between sin and doing what pleases God. My prayer is that you would remember the love of God, that he is your Father and that you are free to pursue righteousness because you’ve been adopted into the family of God. You are not under the rule of a babysitter but under the love of a Father.
“Are we truly grown-up? Are we trustworthy? Do we really believe? Or would we secretly prefer to be looked after by a babysitter?”
