In Romans 8 Paul is talking about how we died to our sinful nature and are alive in Christ. We are no longer slaves to sin, but sons and daughters of God. Romans 8:14-17 says,
“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 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.”
There is a big difference between thinking and acting like a slave vs a son or daughter. The job of the parents is to empower their kids. Jesus said in John 15:15
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
In my backyard we have a fairly technical play set that our kids learned how to play on. It’s a two story playhouse with the second story being around seven feet off the ground. The kids at a young age would try to climb up the ladder. It’s our job as parents to teach our kids to thrive in our environment. It doesn’t do my kids any good to shield them the possible dangers around our house. It benefits them to learn the proper technique to be able to navigate these obstacles safely. So with repetition with the correct technique I trained my kids to climb the ladder.
To empower our kids we must teach and train them to thrive as well as give them the room to grow in understand and ability through experience. This means there is room for trial and error.
There have been times in my life where I have sought God looking for a yes or no answer and got neither. God has given us the ability to develop and become mature and capable. To come up with ideas and turn them into realities. In order for us to grow he gives us room to make decisions. But this does not compute in a slave mentality. A slave mentality can’t move without instruction. Sonship however is based off our understanding of the heart of the father.
A slave sits around and refuses to move without a clear command. A son takes action because he knows the heart of the father. A slave is powerless while a son is empowered.