You are not a slave
To understand our rightful positions in Christ Jesus , let ' s consider the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-24 . He was the youngest son of his father . One day , he decided to exercise his right as a son and he went to his father and asked for his own share of property . His father didn ' t object ; he divided his property between his two sons . The younger one sold his share and left home with the money . He went to a far off country , wasted his money in reckless living and spent everything he had . He was left with nothing ; not even anything to sustain himself . He resorted to work - something he wasn ' t doing in his father ' s house - just to get something to eat .
A closer look at this story and you realize that it looks like a robbery case , but without violence . This young man was robbed of everything by the world and he was left alone to die . In other words , whatever his father had given to him was taken away from him , but he consented to it . It wasn ' t by force ; he simply submitted to the world and surrendered his inheritance to it . When it was all gone , he began to suffer . This is exactly what happened to man in the beginning . He simply submitted to the devil who took everything away from him , and he was left helpless and suffering . Man was not supposed to work for food , God provided for him until he sinned . The ground was cursed on his account and that ' s when he began to work with his own hands . What he could have free of charge , he now had to work , even toil to have it . This son suffered so much until he could not take it anymore . He came to his senses and remembered that he had a father . He made up his mind to return to him , repent and beg him to take him in , at least as a slave .
But this is what happened :
So he got up and went to his father . “ But while he was still a long way off , his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him ; he ran to his son , threw his arms around him and kissed him .
“ The son said to him , ‘ Father , I have sinned against heaven and against you . I am no longer worthy to be called your son .’ “ But the father said to his servants , ‘ Quick ! Bring the best robe and put it on him . Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet . Bring the fattened calf and kill it . Let ’ s have a feast and celebrate . For this son of mine was dead and is alive again ; he was lost and is found .’ So they began to celebrate ~ Luke 15:20-24 NIV
This man didn ' t count his son ' s sins or loss . He accepted him wholeheartedly , forgave and restored him back to his original position ; that of a son . Not only that , he ordered a ring to be put on his finger , and sandals on his feet . A ring in the ancient times was a symbol of authority , while sandals on his feet indicate rest . Any person wearing sandals means that he or she is in relaxation mode . I believe that he wasn ' t wearing like this while taking care of pigs . In his father ' s house , he found rest .
The rightful position of every child of God is the position of rest . Connecting the story of the prodigal son to what happened in Eden : both Adam and the prodigal son were in the right place until they desired something more : Independence . In their pursuit for independence , they gave their rights as " sons " and became slaves , just like Esau did . This ushered them to a life of toiling , struggling and suffering .
Once you break out from God and declare independence , you become a slave , but there is room for freedom . Jacob told his son , " you shall serve your brother ; And it shall come to pass , when you become restless , that you shall break his yoke from your neck .” Just the same way the prodigal son got tired and returned back to his father , we also need to get tired and return back to our Father . Jesus in the book of Matthew 11:28 is inviting us to take rest in Him , while God
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