The Slave

Mark 10:44 And whoever wants to be first among you shall be the slave of all

This is a confusing verse, isn't it? How can a slave of all be first among the many?

A slave is one that does not stand on his own right; instead, he is always willing to serve others and sacrifice himself for them.

This is not the conventional definition of a "slave". The slaves we are used to have the negative connotation that goes along with the history of the word behind it. However, a slave in the biblical sense, is one who is willing to serve and sacrifice. God the Father, came down in the form of Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, and lived a slave life. Although we call him Lord, he will not be one to be our master. There is only one master, and He is God. When Jesus was on the earth with man, he saw himself no higher than that of the person next to him. Everyone was on equal ground, and he was of lower status.

Matthew 20:28 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.

Jesus lived a serving life. He served man, and the Father, caring for nothing of his own interest.
The word slave has such a negative connotation, especially when we look back at man's history. Slaves have no rights, they were only required to serve and to follow. Slaves are bound to the master's laws. Everything that the slave owns is property of his master. Is this such a life you want to be living?

Probably not, right? But Christ lived such a life. He kept the Father's laws and served others.

To be a willing slave of the Father, a person must need (1) the spirit of sacrifice and (2) love for the master (God). The spirit of sacrifice, requires one to not stand on his own rights; instead, one should always be willing to serve others and sacrifice himself for them. Christ was willing to sacrifice himself to save us all. What a commitment that was to serve the Father and to save His people by sacrificing His being to become the life-giving Spirit.  He sacrificed Himself so that we didn't have to go through it, and through His sacrifice we are saved.

 2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ constrains us because we have judged this, that One died for all, therefore all died.

What love God has, for His people, that he came down to serve them and to sacrifice His life so that He would be able to give us life.

Do you love God? Do you love Jesus? Are you willing to give everything up and sacrifice yourself, your own being, and do everything the Lord asks of you?

In other words, do you truly love God so much that you are willing to become his slave?

Love produces obedience. Only a slave can obey, a parent is willing to be a slave to their children out of love. God was willing to be a slave of His children out of His love for us. In Exodus 21:2 a slave was to be set free after serving his master for six years. He gained a wife and children and if he could have chosen to be free from them.

 Exodus 21:5-6 But if the servant plainly says, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free; / Then his master shall bring him to God and shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.

Love requires sacrifice. Without sacrifice, there can be no love. The slave sacrificed his own being, his rights, his freedom simply because he loved. Like the Son sacrificing His life for the love of man and of the Father.

1 John 3:16-18 In this we know love, that He laid down His life on our behalf, and we ought to lay down our lives on behalf of our brothers. / But whoever has the livelihood of the world and sees that his brother has need and shuts up his affections from him, how does the love of God abide in him? / Little children, let us not love in word nor in tongue but in deed and truthfulness.

God wants these slaves, He wants us to do nothing on our own but act only according to the word of the Father. What a great life we would be living on this earth, if we were only serving one another rather than serving ourselves and fighting among ourselves. The highest position you can take in God's eyes is the position of a slave, one who is willing out of love to serve and sacrifice their whole being to the Lord.

Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.
5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
5:5 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

God does not want the proud, the rich, those who have everything in this world to show off. He wants a slave that own nothing of his own but still loves and obeys the Father. He seeking for a slave that is willing to empty themselves, humble themselves, sacrifice their ranks, rights, and privileges to live a life that serves their brothers with the obedience of a slave and the love for the church and love towards the Lord. He wants someone who is empty so that He may fill them up with Himself and gain in them the love of Christ.

1 Corinthians 9:19 For though I am free from all, I have enslaved myself to all that I might gain the more.