My church has been celebrating black history month all February. At prayer meeting last night, my pastor summed up the month by describing what we focused on each Sabbath. We discussed about how we
have been liberated from slavery to Satan, slavery to sin, and slavery to self. But he then went on to say that we have been liberated from all of these things...so that we can be slaves to God. Huh? What could he mean by this? A slave does not have choices and options like
a freeman. He does what he is told to do, wears what he is told to wear, and
speaks the way he is told to speak. He does not get paid like a servant or even
has privileges to come and go as a servant does. A slave is in total bondage to
the master.
Throughout history, slaves were subject to involuntary slavery. But now
that freedom has been granted, people are taught to fight oppression! Fight bondage! We are told as children to never
give up, never allow yourself to subject to anyone or anything
you disagree with, and fight. But we are called to be slaves to God. It is a
concept difficult for us to wrap our heads around.
Slavery to God is voluntary. It is saying “I don’t have a
goal, I do what the Master tells me. I don’t decide what to wear, I wear what
the Master tells me. I don’t eat what I want to eat, I eat what the Master
tells me to eat.” The way I think of it is as if I were on death row for a crime
I committed and a friend stepped in to take that punishment, even though she had never done anything wrong. All she asks of me is to live out her dream. I would no longer have dreams or purposes. My one
dream and purpose would be to live out what she asked of me because of what she did for me. I would be in bondage to her dream, a slave to what she asked of me. Jesus took that punishment for us and asks us now to serve Him, producing those fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5.22-23).
As slaves of Christ, the only way to tell we are
slaves is by our voluntary service. It is what we live for as slaves of Christ. It was clear throughout history who was a slave because he/she did not do what they
wanted to do. They served the master whether they liked it or not, and that’s
what they lived for. Our service to God should be the same, but should be a joyful service! That sermon
really compelled me to stop living for self and become a slave to Christ. Living,
acting, eating, watching, and partaking in things that the Master says I can. I
feel only then can we really become the hands and feet of Christ.
Blessings
