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¹ It's like this, if a dad dies and leaves an inheritance to his kids, they're not much better off until they grow up. They may own what their dad had, but it's not really theirs until they grow up. ² They have to do what the nanny says until they reach the age their dad had set for them to receive the inheritance. ³ That's what it was like before Jesus came. We were like children. We were subject to the ways of this world until he came.

⁴ But at just the right moment, God sent his only boy, born to a virgin, and under the same set of rules as everyone else. ⁵ God sent his boy to buy our freedom so he could adopt us as his very own. ⁶ And since we are his kids, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. Now we call out, "Abba, Daddy!" ⁷ You are no longer a child slave of sin, but one of God's own children—with an inheritance that will come as well.

Paul Cares for the Galatians

⁸ It wasn't long ago that you didn't know God. Y'all were slaves to false gods. ⁹ But now you know the one and only God. But to be honest, it is God who knows us, not the other way around. ¹⁰ Just look at y'all now though. You are trying to make God happy by celebrating certain days or months or seasons or years. ¹¹ I feel sorry for you. Maybe all my hard work was for nothing. ¹² Listen close! I want y'all to ride with the same kind of freedom I do. I don't want you to be slaves of the Law. In that respect, I am like the outsiders. I am free of the prison of the Law.

Y'all were real good to me the first time we met. ¹³ Remember, I was so sick when I brought y'all the good news. ¹⁴ Even though it was hard on y'all, you didn't turn me away. You welcomed me as if I were an angel sent by God. You treated me as if I were Jesus himself. ¹⁵ I remember the smiles on your faces. Where did those smiles go? I know y'all would've done anything for me if I'd asked. If I'd needed eyes, y'all would've given me your own. I know you would have. ¹⁶ But what has changed? Am I now your arch enemy just because I told you the truth?

¹⁷ Don't listen to those people. They are trying very hard to turn you away from riding for the brand. They want y'all to ride for them and work hard for them, not Jesus. ¹⁸ Now y'all know working hard is good for you. Y'all should be working hard regardless of whether I am there or not. ¹⁹ Listen, I'm hurting bad for y'all. I hurt as bad as a mom watching her son get in a horse wreck. I will feel like this until people can look at y'all and see Jesus. ²⁰ I wish I were there so I could help y'all. But as it is now, this is all I can do.

Abraham's Two Kids

²¹ Some of you folks want to live under the Code, but do you really know what is says? ²² Abraham had two sons. The first son was from a slave woman and the second was from a free woman. ²³ His first son was born like any other kid. But his second son wasn't the result of normal human birth. Isaac was the result of a promise from God.

²⁴ This is an illustration of the two agreements between God and his people. One agreement was made on Sinai Mountain. This agreement was the Code that enslaved people, just like Hagar was a slave to Abraham. ²⁵ Jerusalem is no better off. It is a city that has been enslaved to the Code. She and her children live in slavery to a set of rules. ²⁶ But the other wife, Sarah, is like the Jerusalem that will come down from heaven. She is a free woman and this new city will be like our mother.

²⁷ Isaiah even said, "Put a grin on your face, O dry woman, who has never given birth! Break into a dance for you've never gone through labor. The woman who'd never had kids now has more than the lady who lives with her husband!"

²⁸ You cowboys and cowgirls are promised children, just like Isaac was. ²⁹ But Abraham's other boy, Ishmael, the one born normal, caused a lot of problems for the promised child, Isaac. The same thing is happening today. ³⁰ But don't go forgetting what the Good Book said, "Sort out the slave woman and her child. The son of the free lady will receive all his daddy's inheritance. The slave woman's son will receive nothing." ³¹ So, cowboys and cowgirls, we ain't kids of the slave, we are children of the free.