Remember the story of the prodigal son? He felt so ashamed. He walked away with far less of an inheritance than what his father really wanted to give him. He went at it his own way. And then, in a move of total desperation and as an outlaw and a coward and a pig slime eater, he squirms his way back, hoping to now be a servant rather than a son. And the father’s response? Son, get off your knees. Come here. I welcome you home. I wept every night for you. You are my son.

Paul makes the same argument in Romans chapter 8. We are not given into slavery and fear, but we are adopted children of God. Loved and fully vested with an inheritance beyond our imagination. So why in the world don’t we walk in it?