SUNDAY July 21, 2024
The Obedient Bondservant
Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.
Ephesians 6:5-8
Paul taught Christians who were slaves to be obedient to their masters who ruled over them, as unto the Lord. They were to view themselves with the right perspective––as bondservants of Christ. Their aim in their servanthood to their masters was to please the Lord, and He would reward them.
A slave who willingly served his master was known as a bondservant. In Exodus 21:1-11, we find a good understanding of someone who willingly became a bondservant. In the Old Testament, a Hebrew served his master for six years. When his time of servitude was completed, the master came to him and asked if he would like to remain his servant. The choice was presented, and he could now choose to leave his master and be free, or he could willingly stay.
Perhaps as a slave, he was treated well. He may have grown to love his master, and for the rest of his life, he would freely serve him. If so, the master of the house would take his servant to the doorpost of his house and pierce his right earlobe and place an earring as a sign that his servant was now a bondservant. He willingly would serve his master by his own free will.
Understand, as we serve our employers, we are ultimately serving Jesus Christ. It does not matter how kind or bad-tempered an employer may act, continue to set an example in your service to them. If they do not know Christ, the Lord can use you to bring them to Christ. Pray diligently for them, the company, and the rest of the employees.
The passion of Christianity comes from deliberately signing away my own rights and becoming a bondservant of Jesus Christ. Until I do that, I will not begin to be a saint.
~Oswald Chambers~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!
