Bondservant for Christ

And remember, if you were a slave when the Lord called you, you are now free in the Lord. And if you were free when the Lord called you, you are now a slave of Christ. – 1 Corinthians 7:22

For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. -1 Peter 2:16

So here’s the thing about God’s Kingdom and commandments: they are backwards in regards to what the world thinks. To read the above verses may scare you a little, but being a slave of Christ isn’t like being a slave in this world. You see, when you lose your worldly life for Christ, you actually gain eternal life and all the blessings that come with it. In the world, it would be terrible to become a slave, but in the Kingdom, it’s the most high honor. 

Everything in God’s Kingdom is backwards from what we know: finances, blessings, favor, surrender, servanthood, being the least of these, etc. In the world we are taught to be first at everything. Get the most promotions, make the most money, get the most recognition and praise and then we will be happy. But God tells us to lay down our lives and that the first will be last and the last will be first. This is why the Word tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds because we cannot fully grasp this until we see with spiritual eyes. 

It took me a long time to fully surrender to the Lord and the authority that He placed in my life. I had an issue with surrender and vulnerability because I had been hurt and betrayed by those I loved most. It took me 29 years to give it all up and to begin receiving everything the Lord has for me. I couldn’t understand how being a slave to Christ was a good thing! In the world, slaves get abused, mistreated, spit on, and used more than any human should be. Yet in the Kingdom, being a slave for Christ is the best title we could ever behold. 

You see, Jesus became a bondservant for us, first. He had all authority in Heaven and on Earth and He surrendered it fully for us. He became the least of these so that we could become great. He became fully man so that He could understand everything we would ever go through and experience. He gave up His comfort, His crown, and He replaced it with an unbearable death and a crown of thorns. He gave His very life so that He could save ours. 

Being a slave for Christ may cost you every worldly thing, but it will bring you every good and perfect gift for eternity. The blessings the Lord pours out on those who are willing to give it all is unmatched and incomparable. We are only losing things that never would have filled us in the first place, and the crazy thing about surrender is that the Lord blesses us beyond measure when we finally do it. The Lord isn’t asking you to be a bondservant so that you suffer and walk around poor and lowly. He’s asking you to surrender so that He can give you everything He died for you to have! We only give up meaningless worldly things in order to gain every perfect Kingdom thing. It doesn’t make normal sense, but oh when you do it, you will truly taste and see that the Lord is good. Run to Him, He’s waiting for you patiently.

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