Daughter of God

Over break, after finishing my ordiantion paperwork, I was able to go to the Bishop's Retreat for our Clergy Family in Lancaster, PA. What a blessing! It was nice to be able to just relax for a few days. And I was able to hear the powerful preaching of Rev. Grace Imathiu, a Biblical Scholar (NT - Gospels) and pastor in Wisconsin.

The most powerful message was about the Parable of the "Prodigal Son". She viewed this story in a whole new way, structured around the question of how we view ourselves as pastors - are we living like hired hands or children of God? We spent some time talking about the differences between the two titles and came to the conclusion that most of us are living like hired hands - especially for our churches. We act as if we are accountable only to the people we serve, and not to God, which leads us towards the impossible task of making everyone happy, even if it isn't in their best interest or ours.

I'm now trying to pose this question more often in my life - am I living as a hired hand or a child of God?

How do you see yourself?