At first glance, this may seem to be an odd relationship
through which to demonstrate love or even an appropriate designation for God
and His followers, but it is one that God Himself claims. "Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you
too have a Master in heaven" (Colossians 4:1). It is true that the
master/servant relationship is not one typically associated with love. Even
within the confines of human experience, however, care and love can be exhibited
in this relationship.
Slave owners throughout history have typically been known for
their cruelty, but abuse was not the exclusive treatment. Particularly with
house servants or personal servants, there have been many instances in which
the bond between the master and servant was quite strong. There were slaves who
admired their master or mistress or who doted on the children under their care,
sometimes to the extent of loving them as their own. The reverse was also true.
There have been children or even adults who were so devotedly attached to their
slaves that they thought of them as family and were emotionally devastated to
lose them. Such servants were well-treated, provided for, appreciated, and
loved.
If even a human example (of something normally viewed as
horrible) is capable of providing such a pleasant picture, how much more can
the divine example do? Every human relationship has flaws and shortcomings, but
when God presents Himself as a member in that relationship, He fills His role
perfectly. God takes what humans do awkwardly and imperfectly, and He masterfully
shows the ultimate demonstration of what that relationship can and should be.
God elevates the quality of the interaction, thereby revealing the greatest and
noblest potential.
God's role as a loving master to His servants is expressed
in three ways. First, He is a Master who gives clear and purposeful direction
for life. "Behold, as the eyes of
servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of
her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, until He is gracious to
us" (Psalm 123:2). Slaves are dependent. They don't know what to do
unless the master tells them. They don't know how to do it unless the master
provides instruction. They don't have the materials necessary unless the master
provides them. In fact, they don't even have the necessities of life unless the
master makes provision for them.
Believers have this type of dependence on their Master, and
He appropriately gives all that they need. When they look to their Master for
guidance and provision, He lovingly directs and supplies for them. In essence,
the Master provides both the purpose for life and all that is required for the
outworking of that purpose.
Second, God is a Master who lovingly serves His servants. "You call me Teacher and Lord; and you
are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet,
you also ought to wash one another's feet" (John 13:13-14). This
aspect is nearly incomprehensible. If a man has servants, it is so that they
can serve him. Why would a man who has servants stoop to do his own work, let
alone serve those who should be serving him instead? Yet Jesus in loving
humility stooped to wash the feet of His servants.
The only explanation is that Jesus had a love that
transcended earthly formalities and expectations. In this particular instance,
He was trying to teach an important lesson to His disciples, and His love for
them led to such a strong determination to teach them that He was willing to
reverse the roles and be a servant to them. A Master who sacrifices Himself and
His dignity in order to bring about the greatest benefit for His servants is
one whose heart overflows with love for them.
Third, God is a Master who lovingly extends to His servants
a position they do no merit. "You
are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves,
for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you
friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to
you" (John 15:14-15). While the picture of believers as servants of
God persists throughout the rest of Scripture, this interaction between Jesus
and His disciples significantly changes and, in fact, nearly abolishes the
relationship.
Jesus reveals that the master/servant relationship with His
disciples is not like any master/servant relationship that has ever been seen
before. The revelatory distinction is that this Master gives personal insights
that a master in an ordinary relationship would never give. He lets His
servants in on details. He shares His plans with them. There is an intimacy and
a closeness that would normally never exist in this type of relationship. Yes,
believers still serve Him, but they are invited to an unbelievable friendship
and familiarity with the Master who loves them.
What an amazing position to serve such a Master! What a
wonder to actually be useful for Him! Such useful service is possible. "Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself
from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the
Master, prepared for every good work" (II Timothy 2:21). The
usefulness comes as the servant learns to be like the Master. "It is enough for the disciple that he
become like his teacher, and the slave like his master" (Matthew 10:25a).
"Blessed is that
slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes." Luke 12:43 (NASB)
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