Being a slave to the Lord Jesus

"Who among you, if he has a slave busy plowing or keeping cattle, will say to him, when he comes back from the fields : Come quickly and sit down to table ! Will he not say to him on the contrary : Prepare me for supper, and be seated and serve me till I have eaten and drunk ; And afterward thou shalt eat and drink. Should he be grateful to the slave for doing what was commanded ?" Luke 17: 7-9

The Lord has all the rights over his slaves, what they are, what they have, what they do. We belong to him entirely, spirit, soul and body.

Certainly, Jesus gave grace to his disciples to declare to them : "I no longer call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master does ; But I have called you friends" (John 15: 15) ; But he also said to them, "You are my friends, if you do all that I command you" (John 15:14).

In our relationship with the Lord, let us not forget that he has absolute authority. He is God, he is the Master; He commands, we obey without us having anything in return. This is what he teaches us with his own mouth in today's verse.

Sometimes we hear : "The blessing of the Lord is tied to obedience" ; But to affirm this is to place oneself in a contract : "I obey, you bless me." Our faculties, our aptitudes, our time, our goods, all belong to him. We can not negotiate them. Whatever services we perform, we will never make God our debtor.

The Lord adds to the address of his disciples : "So you also, when you have done all that has been commanded you, say : We are useless slaves ; What we were obliged to do, we did" (Luke 17:10). Coming from a boss of this land, this declaration would demolish any employee on the day he retires after long years of service! Coming from the Lord of glory, she fulfills gratitude for the privileges and honor conferred. Certainly, Teacher might have hired someone else, but do you think he is calling people who are unfit to perform his duties ? Those who serve God faithfully receive much more than they bring (Matt 25:21).

Lord, teach me that there is no merit in my obedience. Amen.

Source (To pleasing the Lord)