Seized to Be A Slave of Jesus

Key Verse

“Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20-26-28 (NIV)

Short Reflection

We are uncomfortable in our day with terms like ‘servant’ or ‘slave’. Their image is counter-cultural. They show the Jesus-cultural reality. One life given for the salvation of many. The challenge then is to respond to his life-saving action and become his slave for the term of your life; enslaving yourself to his purpose! Matthew 20.28 reminds us that Jesus did ransom us from the prison and sentence of death, purchasing our freedom at the cost to his own life. As a consequence, you are free to leave your prison and your death sentence. Romans 5:6 reminds that “at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” Us! With a cancelled debt, you have been seized to become Christ’s slave to righteousness (Romans 6.13). In giving yourself to his purposes, living them out in his ways and on his terms, you choose to give yourself away. What is the outcome of this enslavement? You can foresee others being born into his kingdom, forsaking their former slavery for a sentence of slavery to righteousness, too. You can see others in your minds eye being nurtured in the faith and brought to maturity, along with you, as we all wait together for that eternal kingdom promised to his Church.

What a great privilege it is then that you have been seized to be a slave of Jesus!

This is the third in the “Seized to Be A Living Sacrifice” series of blog posts and is a special submission from our close friend in Australia, Kathi Cohen, of Moringa Associates.