Our church was blessed last night with the presence of two amazing people from the Lord's own heart. Pastor Pablo and his wife, Martha are from Mexico. They are involved in numerous outreaches from mission work, to planting new churches, to discipleship classes, to sport outreach to name a few. They definitely keep themselves busy with the Lord's work, serving as His hands and feet. It was such an inspiration to listen to them speak of their love for the Father and His people. . . but the thing that stuck out to me most about last night is Pastor Pablo's messege.
Pastor Pablo started his messege by handing our pastor a Bible. He asked "If I give this Bible to Pastor Tim and he becomes the owner, what can he do with it?" A few of us cautiously answered that he could do anything he wanted with it. Pastor Pablo continued to ask questions such as "Could he rip it up?" . . . a few "yes" and a couple of loud "NO!" (The kids didn't quite seem to think that ownership made this acceptable.) 
He went on to explain that ownership of the Bible entitled Pastor Tim to do whatever he pleased with HIS Bible. He could read it, throw it away, rip it up, or even eat it if he liked. The point is that the Bible belongs to him and is to be used in any way he sees fit.
Well friend, Pastor Pablo and I have news for you. . . YOUR life was bought at the cost of the blood of the only Son of God! Your life does not belong to you, but rather the Creator of the universe. He is our master and we are His slaves. . . yep, you read that right. SLAVES!
At first, that caught me a little off guard and I wondered about the choice of THAT specific word. After all, it sounds a little threatening doesn't it? As Americans, we hold tight the idea that we are FREE and INDEPENDENT, giving us the right to live our lives as we please. But after thinking about it I realized that couldn't be farther from the truth! We have been bought with a price, ransomed by the blood of the Creator's own Son! He has ownership over us and our lives. . . and He can do with them whatever pleases Him.
Servant: a person who is employed and performs the duties of another.
Slave: a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them.
It is hard not to allow your mind to wander back to our country's days before the Civil War. During those days lords would exert their power over their slaves. They would treat them cruelly by overworking them, forcing them to live in almost inhuman conditions, and overall "breaking" them down with oppression and hate. But our God is so much bigger than that! He showers us in His love and allows us to be a part of His inheritence. He calls us His sons and daughters, raising us up to be more than we can be. Unlike the slave owners of our past who forced people to obey without consideration to their well-being, our Master only wants what is the best for us. The amazing thing is that although we were bought with Christ's blood and He now has ownership of us, He treats us as servants. . . compensating us with His eternal reward. We are truly blessed to be His slaves! I don't know many masters who would lovingly invite their slaves into their homes and live with them in peace. . . but our Master does! He walks with us every day, leading us in the path of righteousness and then, though we don't deserve it, He invites us into Heaven. WOW!
Calling ourselves slaves to God may seem a bit extreme, but we serve an extreme Master! He is the One Who creates whole universes in just 6 days! He parts seas and rivers, allowing His people to cross on dry ground. He heals the sick and blind and tells the dead to breathe! Death has no power over Him and His!! We should be honored to lay down our lives for Him, wholly surrendering ourselves to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! Blessed be the name of the Lord!!
He laid down his life for us. Now, let's live ours for him.
