Children, Not Slaves

[Thompson, Darryl]

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Ellen G. White Estate, Devotional for May 10
Visit us at http://www.whiteestate.org
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Children, Not Slaves

Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have
grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly
fear. Heb. 12:28.

There are many who profess to be Christ's followers and yet are not
doers of His Word. They do not relish this Word because it presents
service which is not agreeable to them. They do not relish the wholesome
reproofs and close, earnest appeals. They do not love righteousness, but
are mastered and tyrannized over by their own erratic, human impulses.

It makes every difference how we do service for God. The boy who drudges
through his lessons because he must learn will never become a real
student. The man who claims to keep the commandments of God because he
thinks he must do it will never enter into the enjoyment of obedience.

The essence and flavor of all obedience is the outworking of a principle
within-the love of righteousness, the love of the law of God. The
essence of all righteousness is loyalty to our Redeemer, doing right
because it is
right. When the Word of God is a burden because it cuts directly across
human inclinations, then the religious life is not a Christian life, but
a tug and a strain, an enforced obedience. All the purity and godliness
of religion are set aside.

But adoption into the family of God makes us children, not slaves. When
the love of Christ enters the heart we strive to imitate the character
of Christ. . . . The more we study the life of Christ with a heart to
learn, the more Christlike we become. Into the heart of every true doer
of the Word the Holy Spirit infuses clear understanding. The more we
crucify selfish practices by imparting our blessings to others and by
exercising our God-given ability, the more the heavenly graces will be
strengthened and increased in us. We will grow in spirituality, in
patience, in fortitude, in meekness, in gentleness. . . . A train of
cars is not merely attached to the engine; they follow on the same track
as the engine. Whom are we following?

>From Devotional: Our Father Cares, pp. 123, 124.