Not My Own Master

I read a quote in a book today, "I an not my own master."  It gripped me. The truth is that none of us, who are Jesus followers, are our own masters. We do not have the right or authority to determine the direction of our lives. The context of that quote in the book today, dealt with a pastor being called to a difficult area of ministry where He did not want to go nor take his family. He reminded himself that God was His master, submitting to His authority.

It proved costly. Upon the birth of his first child, his wife suffered ill effects which eventually took her life. The little child died within two weeks. A second child was born to the couple, and lived only a short time before he died as well. The wife followed a short thereafter.

Following God can lead you down some undesirable paths. For this preacher, it meant the loss of his family. For Paul, it meant the loss of his freedom in following the Holy Spirit's leadership to go to Jerusalem. He was arrested there. For William Carey it meant going to India. For Hudson Taylor it meant leaving his mother behind to follow to China. For D.L. Moody it meant leaving a prosperous business career to be an evangelist. What does it mean for you?

When you are not your own master, it means saying no to many things pagans say yes to, and on the other hand saying yes to things many in the world says no. It means being constantly out of step with the majority of the world, swimming upstream against society, thinking at odds with the commonly held worldview and living with conviction to unseen realities the world neither believes or endears.

Not being your own master is following Jesus daily. [Luke 9:23]. It means dying to self. [Gal 2:20]. It requires being crucified to the world. [Gal 6:14]. It necessitates living by faith and not sight. [II Cor 5:7] It means laying your life on His altar as the ultimate expression of worship. [Rom 12:1]

Sometimes it means going where you don't want to go, doing what you don't want to do, giving what you don't want to give, loving whom you do not want to love and serving whom you do not want to serve. Jesus set the example in each of the above. He is our Master. He is our King. He is our Lord. He is our Savior. He is our Deliverer. May we bow in love and allegiance to Him. May we live to follow His marching orders. May He reign and rule on the thrones of our hearts for all our days.