Reflections from March 24, 2010

Today in Galatians 4:4 we read, "But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons."

Here Paul is explaining through an illustration how we are not "free" in a sense; we're born under the bondage of sins, and then Jesus bought us and now we are under the rule of God. However, the difference is that not only did Jesus pay off our sin resulting in now belonging to God, Jesus made us just like Him as a Son of God. So now that we are adopted into the family, we'll receive the inheritance of God in due course. This shows the powerful love of God to consider us as sons.

From Proverbs we read in Proverbs 24:5, "A wise man is strong, Yes, a man of knowledge increases strength."

Solomon tells us that we can increase knowledge through our work; that is, by working smarter, not harder. Using our brain instead of brawn increases our knowledge and becomes somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophesy. Ways to work harder include:
* Honor God with our work through tithes and offerings from our pay
* Learn diligence to avoid laziness
* Take responsibility for our work, plan it out to reap the benefits
* Be motivated by the need to provide for our families and show initiative in our work
* Work for long-term gain rather than short-term
* Become successful by developing excellence in skills and performance

Careful and prudent actions will lead to knowledge and increased blessings in our work.

Blessings to all