Satisfied When He's Glorified

"For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake" (2 Corinthians 4:5)

As I think about the subject that faces us here, beloved, I recall with fondness a "message-magnet" that I found years ago in a small Christian bookstore. It read simply: "When the Master is glorified, the servant is satisfied." So taken was I with that powerful message that I bought the magnet and placed it on the dashboard of my car as a daily reminder of my purpose in life.

The Apostle Paul often referred to himself as a "bond-servant" and here confirms that every true believer is, in fact, a "bond-servant" of Jesus Christ. The Greek word doulos referred to a level of servitude common in that day in which the "servant" was one who had no personal rights of his own. His every moment was lived in service to his master, in pursuit of what his master wanted, in support of what his master said. It is fascinating that this is the very word which the apostle chose to describe not only his own service as a follower of Jesus Christ, but also that of every true believer of every generation.

Note first that he declared of a doulos that he does not promote himself in place of his Master. It is Jesus Christ who is Lord and it is He who commands us implicitly and completely. It is His message that we proclaim and His good that we seek daily. For us as Christians today, then, nothing is about us and everything is about Him and His glory.

But note also that Paul told the Corinthian believers that once we establish the reality that Jesus Christ is Lord in our lives, what is cleared up for us immediately is that we are the bond-servants of Jesus Christ and we live and serve at His pleasure. How often do we as Christians struggle today with this personal identity crisis! Somehow we think that serving Christ is about us - our recognition and our glory. Yet even as we express such an attitude, the truth is that we are but douloi or "bond-servants" of Jesus Christ.

If we could just come to realize and accept who we really are within God's wondrous plan, beloved, our role would become clear and our joy would be complete just in the privilege of serving the King of Kings. Or as my little message-magnet put it so clearly: "When the Master is glorified, the servant is satisfied."

Ron