Master part 4
When it comes right down to it, it's about identity. It's about how you see yourself. Because how you see yourself is how you see God. If you see yourself as a sinner who deserves punishment for all the wicked deeds you've done, you'll see God as an angry taskmaster who judges according to good and evil. But if you see yourself as His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased... then you can see Him (correctly) as your loving heavenly Father. And that's the difference between working WITH God and working FOR God. I don't believe we serve God in the sense that He is our master and He orders us around and we have to do what He says or He'll punish us. I believe this is the view the people of Israel had of God before the cross--heavily reinforced by the Law of Moses that the people wanted. It's always funny to me though, that even with this Old Covenant view of God we seem to forget about forgiveness. I've heard "mercy" described as not getting what you deserve. And we "say" God is merciful God. But then with the next breath we condemn Him (condemn ourselves) by saying ridiculous things like, "I already know I'm going to hell." We see ourselves as screw ups, and Him as someone who punishes--not forgives--mistakes. We see Him as a cruel and unflinching taskmaster. Well... according to Hebrews 13:8 in the Amplified Bible, "Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is [always] the same, yesterday, today, [yes] and forever (to the ages)." So in a sense He IS unflinching. But it's not His punishment that is the same forever. It's His Word. (Jesus is the Word, right? God in the flesh, love in a body.) It's His love that is the same forever. His mercy is the same forever. Or as 1 Chronicles 16:34 puts it, "O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever." What am I trying to say? He's not a mean, angry master. He's not mad AT you, He's mad ABOUT you. And He's not a master in the sense that He orders us around and we have to try to do what He says. He's our master in that we present our bodies to Him as a living sacrifice and He--rather than ordering us around--does whatever He wants to do in us and as us and through us. It's not, "Jesus is my boss." It's, "Jesus is my life!" I'm not working--in a Spiritual sense--because the work is finished. I'm resting in the arms of the lover of my soul. He did the work, and now I get to enjoy the fruit of His labor. The fruit of the Spirit. Which is love. It's all about identity, and it's all about love. Because our identity IS love. We are loved, and we are love! That's what it really means to "serve." It doesn't mean we try to earn something. It means we have been freely given something, and now we have something we can freely give! We can receieve and release the love of our Father. We can love Him by loving each other. We can stop trying to earn something... stop trying to be someone we're not... and we can start to enjoy the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life which is the gift of God. We can know God as He truly is and know ourselves (and each other) as we truly are!