Friday, February 24

The slave of Jesus

Scripture: Romans 1

Romans 1:1 From Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.

Observation

Paul introduces himself first as a slave of Jesus Christ. Before he is an apostle, first he is a slave of Jesus.

The Greek word for slave (doulos) was the word for a person bound to another. There was a different word for a servant who was free. 

And yet in the Old Testament, to be the Lord’s slave was a high honor. It was used of Israel as a nation, of such great people as Moses, David and Elijah. 

No doubt Paul had both these nuances in mind. He belonged to Jesus as a slave: “my life is not my own; I have been bought with a price.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) And he saw this as a high honor and so listed it first. “Above all, I am the slave of Jesus.”

And the Scripture says that we find our life by losing it for Jesus; we find our freedom by being his slave.

Application

What does it look like for me to be the slave of Jesus?

It means that before I’m a pastor, first I’m the slave of Jesus.

It means that his will trumps mine. “Not my will, but yours be done.” 

It means that in each situation, I can ask, “What do you want me to do?” And then do it. The most basic definition of a disciple is that we listen to Jesus and do what he says. 

It means that my life is not my own. I belong to Jesus lock stock and barrel. So my time is not my own; my money and things are not my own; my plans are not my own. “What do you want me to do with my time, money, future?” 

Honestly, I don’t often think of myself as the slave of Jesus, even though this idea is all over Scripture. (And of course, it’s not the only metaphor or descriptor of our relationship.) Today, I’m going to think of myself first as Jesus’ slave and see how that affects the way I think, talk and act.

Prayer: Lord, I love you, and I gladly count myself your slave. I owe my whole life to you. So here it is—all of me. Help me today to live joyfully as the slave of Jesus. 

More: Leviticus 19-20, Psalm 24, Galatians 3