What is a "Bond Servant"? The Free Dictionary, an online reference, defines it as "A slave; one who is bound to service without wages." Paul described himself as a bond servant of Jesus Christ and he walk the talk. His life is a great example, 2nd only to Jesus himself, as how to live the Christian life.
Sadly we think of a slave with negative connotations. But it really is someone who is loved by their master, cared for and provided for by their master. Saul, aka Paul, was climbing the ladder of Priesthood as a young man. He worked as a tent maker to pay his way and for his education to become a Priest. He was even doing things to win the favor of Priests hoping they would help him along the way. He went so far as to volunteer to go to Damascus to round up believers of "The Way" and bring them back to prison. But that all changed when Jesus knocked him off his horse with a bright light and blinded him for 3 days. From that point on, Paul was a bond servant of Jesus.
He began the same battle we all face today. We want to follow the will of God in our lives. We want to to the tasks set before from God. We want to go where God sends us in life. But we wrestle with out worldly mind deciding if what we are doing is the right choice. Here we can debate for hours on how to handle this issue, but really it is a simple solution.
Is the task, will, or assignment set before me draw me closer to God or further away from Him?
Asking that question will save us a lot of time. Time that we can use to further the gospel of Jesus.
I enjoy "people watching" as much as the next person, but as of late I find myself "soul watching" instead. Don't get me wrong, I'm not judging them but rather I watch their actions, how they carry themselves, how they react in certain situations. And I also understand that others are watching me! But this "soul watching" can be helpful in correcting a brother or sister in Christ.
I now work with youths in a Christian setting. Many of them are heading into service for Christ while others have not yet decided the path to take in life. I am quick to talk with them about my past. I took the wrong path at their age and I wasted 28 years of my life not serving Jesus. I look at others my age who traveled the right path and see the difference's in our current lives. I'm careful not to covet what they have or do, but I recognise what I am missing in my own life. How much more maturing I have to do. How little I really know spiritually. And that is what bothers me. Time.
Time is unchangeable. A minute is always a minute. An hour is always 60 minutes. A day is always 24 hours. A week is always 7 days. You get the picture. We can neither add to or subtract from time. So I began my bond servant hood late in life. I can only accomplish tasks in the allotted time left to me. Someone said that as long as you are doing God's will you cannot die until you are through. I believe that and trust that God will continue to direct my path each day. I have started the race where I did and there is no sense, wasting time, trying to change that fact.
So I keep moving forward. That's what Paul did!!
May God bless you in all areas of your life.
Read your Bible each day, spending time with Jesus.
Pray for those around you, praise God for the answered prayers.
And continue to encourage others. 1 Peter 5:8
