BEING GOD’S
SLAVE ALSO MEANS THAT HE HAS TOTAL RESPONSIBILITY TO CARE FOR US!
Psalm 123
To you I
lift up my eyes,
O you who
are enthroned in the heavens!
Behold, as
the eyes of servants
look to the
hand of their master,
as the eyes
of a maidservant
to the hand
of her mistress,
so our eyes
look to the LORD our God,
till he has
mercy upon us.
Have mercy
upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us,
for we have
had more than enough of contempt.
Our soul
has had more than enough
of the
scorn of those who are at ease,
of the
contempt of the proud.
The image
of a servant was vivid for those Jews who were returning to Jerusalem. Total
dependence and total commitment to a master was very familiar to them.
Such a
concept as servants and masters is unfamiliar to our daily lives. Although we try to understand, it is hard for us to
know what it really meant to live in utter submission and dependence on someone
else.
A slave had
no other place to go; his treatment was completely at the mercy of his owner. A
servant had no control over his life or even the use of his time. He had one
and only one responsibility: to serve his master. Serving was what he did when
he got up, and serving was what he did until he went to bed. He got up when he
was told, and went to bed when he was told he had done enough for the day. He
was fed and cared for according to the decisions of his master.
When a
master did not treat his servant well, there were no alternatives but to bear up
beneath the demands of his master.
As the
Israelites journeyed back to Jerusalem, they looked to the LORD for their provision,
and to find mercy in His presence. Their lives were hard, living in the midst
of those who had no respect for them or for their God.
As we live
our lives, are we aware of our relationship with our Master, Jesus Christ the
Lord?
John
12:25-26
Whoever
loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it
for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there
will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
When we
look to God to take care of our needs, are we recognizing our total dependence
on Him and our need to be totally devoted to Him?
One of the
verses that has always caused me to think about my relationship to Christ is
found in Luke.
Luke
17:7-10
“Will
any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he
has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? Will he not
rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me
while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the
servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all
that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what
was our duty.’”
I love the
fact that I can look to God to take care of me, but I should never overlook my
duty to serve Him faithfully and without expectations. As I think of the cost
of Christ dying for my sins, I realize all the more the care and love that the
Father has for His servants.
May we live
our lives totally committed to our Heavenly Father, to whom alone we look for
help, in difficult circumstances and in the midst of many who love neither God,
nor those who serve Him.
Being
slaves of a perfect Master is a privilege: may our attitudes reflect this
truth!
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