Romans 1:1 IF YOU WERE FREE TO GO….WOULD YOU

Did you see the Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood movie, The Bridges of Madison County, this past week? There are many times we have the opportunity to walk out the door? We do not why?

Scripture:

Romans 1:1. Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus

Lesson:

That movie elicits many emotions doesn’t it? It appeared that she was a servant in the family, and taken for granted by her husband. Why did she not leave her husband and daughter? As I thought about this scripture, this movie came to my mind.

After his conversion, Paul calls himself a servant of Jesus Christ. When we think about servant, we think about being someone’s slave, the person who is to do all the menial jobs that a master would not want to do. The Greek word for servant is bond-servant. A huge percentage of the Roman world was enslaved. A servant was one who had no control of their life; they were at the mercy of their master. They were totally dependent on their master for everything. However, there was a time that the servants were freed.

Sometimes the servant, even though freed, would choose to stay with the master. Paul is saying that he has given himself up to Jesus in this manner. God so loved us that he sent His son to die for us. As His children we have everything we need supplied for us. As Christians we are not bound to God out of a master/slave relationship but with the idea that we freely choose to be in relationship with God because of His love and care for us. I am not sure why Meryl stayed with her husband and child for it was obvious she felt bound to them but there was no love shown.

Not because of who we are, but because of who Christ was and is, we should want to give all we have to him in service. A slave submits with an attitude of responsibility to fulfilling a task and no more and cannot wait till the day when they can be set free. When our attitude is that of a bond-servant we submit out of love and we want that relationship to last for eternity.

Application:

1.   How do you react to the word servant, better yet the word submission?

2.   Do you see your relationship to God as master/servant or as a bond-servant? In other words is your relationship driven our of responsibility or out of  ove?

3.   How submissive are you to the will of God in your life?

4.   Do you ignore God at your leisure? Are you willing to be used? Paul was free to go. We are free to go. God want us in a love relationship not a have to relationship.

Prayer:

Dear Father, thank you for loving me enough to allow your son, Jesus, to die for me. You grace and mercy far outreaches anything that I might deserve. Forgive me for the times that I have been ungrateful to you. I love you and I want to submit my mind, body, and spirit to you. In Jesus name, Amen.