Scripture: verse 24
Remember that as your reward, you will receive the inheritance from the Lord. You are slaving for the Lord, for the Messiah.
Observation: Paul’s advice to slaves is not to rebel or attempt to gain their freedom. It is to decide that everything they do is done for the Lord, rather than for their masters.
In Leviticus I noticed that God says that we are His slaves. He bought us, and we belong to Him. We cannot be slaves because we already are.
God owns me. He will not share me or sell me and no one can do anything to me without His permission, because I am His property. He is my authority and He has my reward. Other people are kind of irrelevant, really. They don’t own me and He does. That His orders line up with their wishes a lot of the time is His problem, not mine.
There’s a lot of danger in that. If I do something wrong for a human, it’s not a big deal because they’re human too. But God isn’t human. He is Other. He is Holy.
But there’s safety in it as well. Because God has not chosen to treat me as a slave or a servant. He has chosen to treat me as a daughter. My mistakes are covered before I even make them.
And whether I make mistakes or not, I am protected. He is in charge of making decisions, and I don’t have to rely on my own limited understanding. Sometimes we make decisions together, but I’m still under His protection. He protects me and feeds me and gives me exactly what I need to be free.
Application: Trust God. Work for Him.
Prayer: Father, thank you for making me yours. Thank you for making me your slave and your daughter and your pet project. Help me to trust in your protection. Amen.