And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child.[e]And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.
Galatians 4:6-7
Why was Jesus a carpenter? As opposed to a fisherman or tailor. Why did he decide to craft products out of wood?
The answer is because his father was a carpenter. In Israel, children would not go to school and choose any career they wanted. Instead, they would apprentice under their parents and learn the family trade. They would do the same work as their father.
When Jesus began his adult ministry, he went around proclaiming justice, healing the sick, casting out demons, restoring outcasts to communities, declaring the arrival of the Kingdom of God.
When asked, he said, “I only do what I see my Father doing” (John 5:19). As a son, he was doing the work of the father.
In Galatians 4 Paul tells us that we are children of God and that the Spirit of Jesus is within us, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Abba is an incredibly intimate word for Father. It is closer to daddy, or papa. It is shocking in its intimacy and lack of protocol.
We are children of God and as such, we are apprentices of the family business. Jesus transformed the spiritual atmosphere of the nation. He cared for people, sacrificed himself to restore them and took spiritual authority for the atmosphere of the nation.
As an heir of God you are given ownership of his work, his vision and his mission for the world.
What does it look like for you to be part of the family of God?
