Scripture tells us in Romans 8:17 “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”
We are adopted sons and daughters of the most high God. We are heirs to all of His power, provision and Kingdom, but are we ready for it? Are we ready to wield it all and use it all? Are we mature enough to bare the weight of it?
Galatians 4:1-2 says “What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. “
Begging the question, am I underage in my maturity in Christ?
Jack Frost in his book Spiritual Slavery to Spiritual Sonship, talks about how in Paul’s day, a son would work as an apprentice to their Father, from the time they were 12 until about age 30. This was a time where the son got to learn all the tricks of the trade, all the ins and outs, all the stuff not ever taught to the hired man. All this time was to prepare them to bare the weight of the family business. It was a long process of teaching a son how to be responsible for their inheritance.
That is amazing to me; learning to be a good steward of an inheritance, by the very person who built the family business up. Even more amazing is that God our Father wants to do the very same thing; To work side by side to grow us in maturity, giving us authority and power, more and more as we learn to steward the family business.
There is so much hope in this if we are willing to be bold and say to our Father, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalms 139:23-24)
Like a good Father, He is ready to hand it all over to us when we are ready for the weight of the responsibility.
There is a caution though; If we ask for our inheritance ahead of time, we posture ourselves to squander it. This is one of the many lessons of the prodigal son. He thought he was ready for the inheritance, but because he was “underage,” he wasted it all and was left with nothing. Let us not be too quick to have it all at our disposal before we have been trained how to use it all well.
Let us all thank God that He is willing to train us up and grow us in maturity; and that He knows truly what we can be entrusted with!