Jesus compared the Kingdom of Heaven to many things. This is because none of the analogies completed the picture 100%. It’s the same way with the analogies of who we are in Him. As I wrote on Tuesday, we have the privilege of being called sons and daughters of the King. But we can’t limit the analogy to just one of these Kingdom identities.
The Word shares a lot about our identity as servants. Some references even refer to us as slaves. Jesus Himself said that He no longer calls us servants, but friends, “because a servant does not know his master’s business” (John 15:15). But, nonetheless, there are several New Testament references to us as servants. Perhaps Jesus wanted to challenge the Old Testament way of thinking and introduce the new relationship – one of intimacy.
But it’s good to be His slave.
The realty is, we are all slaves to something. Romans 6:18 talks about our slavery and says that we “have been set free from sin and have become slaves of righteousness.” If we’re not submitted to the leadership and authority of Christ, we’ll simply be ruled by our sinful nature. I know that righteousness makes a much better master than sin! Righteousness isn’t performance or perfection, it’s the ability to stand before God without fear of guilt or condemnation (Kenyon).
“It is easy to sing, ‘He will break every fetter,’ while at the same time living a life of obvious slavery to yourself. But yielding to Jesus will break every kind of slavery in any person’s life.”
Oswald Chambers
As our master, He provides us with everything we need.
“As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he shows us his mercy” (Ps 123:2).
If I am serving Him and His purpose, I can trust that He will provide everything I need for every assignment He gives. We think that our provision comes from our own work or from other people – but ultimately, it comes from His hand.
The unique thing about being His slave is that He sends us to serve other people.
In John 13, Jesus gives us an example of servanthood, and calls us to follow that example. We are called to serve each other – even to the point of laying down our lives for each other. We must recognize that in serving other people, He is still our boss and our payment comes from Him, regardless of how other people may “repay” us. We must always, only look to Him as the source.
The life of the slave of Christ is joyous and filled with trust. It’s so much better than slavery to myself or slavery to sin. I wouldn’t trade this identity for anything!