Here are some of my thoughts that I had last night on us having our own rights verses being slaves to Christ. These thoughts are in conjunction with Romans 1:1 and how Paul opens his letter to the church in Rome.
Romans 1:1 - This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News.
Slave masters make their own rules. They tell their slaves when to work and when to stop. They tell them when to sleep and when to wake. They tell them when to talk and when to listen, but they don’t like listening very much. They tell them when to breathe and when to hold their breath.
Slave masters do what they want, when they want, and how they want. They are in control of everything that their slaves do. They don’t give their slaves a choice. Slaves don’t get rewarded for the good that they do or receive any kind of payment. When a slave messes up in doing their work, the slave master punishes them.
As a slave of Christ Jesus, Jesus is the slave master. He makes his own rules (10 Commandments, all of the Gospel teachings, the Bible in a generality). He tells us when to work and when to stop (Sabbath). He tells us when to sleep and when to wake (Day and night, sun and moon). He tells us when to talk and when to listen, and he never minds listening (Prayer/discernment). He tells us when to breathe and when to hold our breath (He breathed his life into us when he created us, giving us life, life so complex from relationships to DNA, and life so simple from watching a beautiful sunset to inhaling and exhaling).
Our Master does what he wants, when he wants, and how he wants (Isaiah 48:9-11 - Yet for my own sake and for the honor of my name, I will hold back my anger and not wipe you out. I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering. I will rescue you for my sake-yes, for my own sake! I will not let my reputation be tarnished, and I will not share my glory with idols!). He is also in control of his slaves, however, he gives us a choice (All the way back to Adam and Eve). It is up to us to follow these rules (Romans 10:9 - If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved). We are rewarded with treasurers in heaven when we follow our Master’s will (Matthew 19:16-30, Jesus Speaks to the Rich Young Man). And even when we mess up, our Master sacrifices his own life so that we may be blameless (John 3:16, Romans 8:3 (NLT) - The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.
(The Message) - God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn't deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all. The law code, weakened as it always was by fractured human nature, could never have done that).
So I am definitely in line with what everyone else seems to be saying, it's hard following Christ and completely submitting to him, but I think we can all agree that we have a Master worth serving!
4 comments:
It is interesting that you mention God made "his own rules" in your post. It reminds me of a conversation that I had with Curtis. We talked about the idea if life being a game, and if life is a game what is its purpose. Often we think the purpose of a game is to win, but sometimes it is more about just playing and enjoying the moment. I am thinking of when I play games with my kids or Corrine/Matt/Theresa (I played a game with them last night). I could blow them out of the water, but I play to enjoy their presence and time, and even though I might win, it is not about winning. When I relate this to Christ and the game of life he plays with us, I find the game about relationship. He doesn't want us to cheat, thus changing the rules of the game (arguably playing a different game). He wants to play the game with what he has given us (as you said the 10 Commandments, the Bible) and play the rules according to the way he intended it to be play. I am guessing the correct way to play the game was exemplified by Jesus. I think Jesus was showing us how the game was meant to be played as he intended it to be played in the garden...before woman cheated (changed the rules of the game) and got us kicked out. Now our fate is to be slaves…Thanks Women!
Anyways, great first post! I am looking forward to seeing more posts from you.
Taylor,
I Loved this post!
Matt, Some would argue that the men also played a huge role in the fall of humanity..And that they had a oppurtunity to change the course of history by growing a pair and smacking the apple straight out of Eve's hand.
And that since then, all of Adam's ancestors are destined to be slaves because of one womans's foolish ideals and one wimpy man's inaction.
bahhhhhh!!!! :)
Megan, Megan, Megan. I apologize, but like all women sometimes there are is too much talking and not enough attention to detail. Men communicate less, thus showing efficacy through choosing less words to emphasize their point, showing that they are wise not to waste too much energy. (Please note Ecclesiastes where the author refers that everything in life is but a breath…here and then gone. Implying that it is meaningless...even to waste time with words…) Please refer to Genesis 3 where our debated interaction takes place. If you notice the snake, being the craftiest creature, simply asks a couple questions. The woman engages the snake, is confused to what God actually said, is convinced she "knows" best (feeling entitled as described in your blog above) and that she too deserves to know good and evil (possibly thinking she is a godess...or equal to God; just as women think they are equal with men? ; ) Therefore, "she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband..." Please notice the semi colon. She acted alone, and the man trusting the woman that God gave him listened/trusted her. (please note that before the fall men listened to woman and it is why men struggle today to listen to their wives....we simply can't trust you creatures.) I would also like to point out that you would like Adam to smack Eve around. I know we have the rule of thumb of when and how to smack a women (this is a pun, please research) Domestic violence? It would appear that you need time to read your Bible and become refreshed with our history. My prayers are with you, but more than you my prayers are with Garrett. : ) Maybe he will take action with you...i hope you are ready to put your beliefs into action. ;)
Until Christ returns... we men will be co-labors with women…as slaves, enduring pain, suffering, work, stress, etc….and for what? Listening to a woman. Men learn now from past mistakes….going back to the beginning of time and gain wisdom. Flee from woman, their decietful words, and their critical approach to the way you live out God's calling on your life. If you pray God will give you the power to zone out and not hear your wifes words.
Wow! For those of you who are unfamiliar with Matt's ridiculous ways and sarcasm (that often disregard boundaries of propriety), know that Matt can't possibly be reading the Bible with such a heart of animosity against women.
Matt knows, as do all wise men, that without good women we'd be lost. :)
On another note: Taylor, welcome to the discussion. Thanks for your addition...
I find it interesting that you so readily accept the language of "rules" for our life with God... Rules are regularly the first to go or be rejected among your peers.
Though... "rules" comes from the same base-root as "ruler" or "standard." God's commands become boundaries or the standard for the "Good Life." When we talk about the "canon" or whole of Scripture, we are reminded that "canon" comes from the same root as "standard" or "ruler." In this way, the Bible is our Rule (Standard) of Life.
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