Sunday, July 8, 2012

We have a Master in heaven

Col 4:1  Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.

We don't like to think in terms of 'masters' and 'servants', puts us in the mind of thinking 'masters' and 'slaves', and who likes to think about that sort of thing? Slavery is something we imagine to be awful in all respects and yet… oddly enough slavery served and serves a purpose still in some places. I'm not talking about slavery of abuse and without consent! What I'm talking about is JUST slavery and by that I mean a person WILLING to be enslaved to serve a purpose  - perhaps to pay off a debt or some such- and that person being enslaved by a just master, not an abusive monster of a master.  Do you imagine there is such a thing, a 'just' master?  We don't like to because we'd rather imagine the horrors of slavery- of which there are many.  Yet, here in the Bible we know there were slaves and masters, and it was accepted, and God wanted the masters to be just to the slaves and the slaves to serve the masters justly as well.

There was also this-- 

Deu 15:12  And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee.
Deu 15:13  And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty:
Deu 15:14  Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him.

Sold- you cannot be sold unless you are a slave.  Sold and served six years then in the seven set FREE and given goods liberally. 

Not EVERY thing about slavery is evil, but Satan would have us believe that even the tiniest thought of slavery is evil. Satan want us  to equate our relationship with God as slave serving a master in such a way that it is a derogatory thing, not a good thing. As master and servant- a bad thing for the servant. Satan would have us all believe we should be masters.  Haven't you heard the various sayings about being masters of our own destinies, masters of our own ships,  master of our own fates, etc. We are even told that we don't need to listen to God, we don't need to obey God, but rather we need to be our own masters and do as we please because God is just hiding things from us, God is just keeping us from being so much better- Satan did the telling of all that to Eve in the garden and mankind has desired to be right with God ever since.

Can you even imagine how badly Adam and Eve regretted their decision to listen to Satan?

I mean, we on a significantly lower level of things, get disappointed when we lose a great job, a great house, when we must end our vacation and return to our mundane life. We never had paradise and lost it, not like Adam and Eve. We never had that oneness with God, never. 

Losing paradise is something people don't concern themselves over much with because Satan wants us to believe that there never was a real paradise to lose. Satan doesn't want us believing in His lies, that being a creature in servitude to a Creator/Master is an offensive thing.

Adam and Eve would probably have given just abut anything to get their sinless state back, to live their life in perfect harmony with their Creator, not doubting Him.

Satan wants us to believe that we are losing out when we submit to the authority of God. In fact, Satan has set our world up to believe in the same thing about each other. To be in service to another is to be inferior- this is what the world believes and yet, there is nothing further from the truth.

Luk 22:25  And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors.
Luk 22:26  But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.
Luk 22:27  For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.

He that is chief- HE THAT DOTH SERVE.

CHRIST was among us as HE THAT SERVETH.

We are servants, every single one of us is a slave to our Master in heaven.

We are servants to each other! We are NOT to strive for mastery over all, mastery above God, mastery above each other.   Yet when we are thrust into the position of being a master over others as is the way of things especially in many positions of authority, we MUST treat those who are serving under us as if we were in their position.

Col 4:1  Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.

We have a Master in heaven and it is to God that we are required to answer for our every action.

We are to LOVE one another as we would be loved, not as we are loved by others, but as we would be in that ideal, perfect world people long for. When we treat others as we WANT to be treated even if they hate us and treat us horrifically, then we are doing God's will, serving our God! 

We must give to others especially if they are subservient to us in any way, we must give unto them that which is JUST and EQUAL, because we WILL answer to our MASTER in heaven for our treatment of others in all the huge ways and in the very tiny, tiny ways.

Please Lord, please HELP us all to do YOUR will, and YOUR will only! All through YOUR love! Please Lord, please bless us and teach us to be YOUR SERVANTS ALWAYS.


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