The Inheritance

The Bible tells the story of what it means to be part of God’s family – our place inside that family, then the fall from it, then the journey back home. This is what Christ did for us when He came. We became God’s adopted sons and daughters.

But I think Galatians takes this a step further, to a place we often forget:

“So you are no longer a slave, but a child. And if a child, then also an heir through God.” — Galatians 4:7

If we are children of God, then we are heirs.

It’s not just membership in a family. It’s experiencing the benefits that membership brings.

I don’t think of my kids as my heirs. That word probably only comes up when somebody dies and the lawyer reads the will. But heirs get the inheritance. And unlike the Prodigal Son, most of the time, you don’t get the inheritance right now. You wait for it. In some ways, you prepare for it. And when you finally receive it, you’re not the heir anymore.

You become the one who passes it on.

That’s the metaphor for grace. We’ve inherited it through Christ. But it was never meant to stop with us. Our job isn’t to hoard it or bury it or keep it locked away like it’s only ours.

Grace multiplies when we give it away.