On Sunday, the word bondservant came up in the sermon. Matt leaned over to me and asked, “Mom, what’s a bondservant?” Of course, it was in the middle of church so I only gave him a short answer… A bondservant of Jesus Christ is someone who is a slave to Jesus. Here’s the reality though… this word goes much deeper, so I thought I would address it here. Keep in mind that this is just scratching the surface. Paul and others (Peter, Timothy, James, Jude) called themselves bondservants of Jesus. It’s important to note that this word comes from the King James Version but in recent translations, it’s shortened to “servant.”
So, we may ask… what is a bondservant? Is it the same as a slave in the 19th century? The answer would be NO. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Slaves in the 19th century were often disregarded, abused, neglected, forced to work for little to no pay, and often treated as animals. Of course, there was the exception but for the most part, slaves were the scum of society. Thanks to Abraham Lincoln and others, slavery was abolished.
On the other end of the spectrum, is it good to be a bondservant? The answer is YES! Let’s look at a couple things the Bible reveals about bondservants.
It’s an honorable position! When Mary was told she would be the one to carry the Christ child, she said to the angel, “I am the Lord’s servant” (Luke 1:38). Let’s also examine another situation in Luke 22:24-26: “Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them. Jesus told them, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’ But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should be the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant.”
So while 19th century slavery was a position of disgrace and dishonor; slavery in the Kingdom of God is a position of esteem and prestige.
It’s a voluntary position! Slaves in the 19th century were forced into slavery or born into it. They were forced to serve, bow to their masters (no matter how cruelly they were treated), and they were forced to accept whatever their masters submitted them to. Being a bondservant of Jesus Christ is voluntary. We choose it. But it’s a choice that Jesus looks favorably upon. As a bondservant, here are two things we willingly submit to…
Giving up our rights! This is one thing Satan confuses us with. You have the right to be angry, to retaliate, to give them a piece of your mind, to be harsh, to love who you want to love (I mean, they don’t deserve your love, right?). But when we willingly give up our rights, we submit to Christ’s ways. We put the Bible’s mandates above our own. We give up our will for His.
Serving God and people! As a bondservant of Jesus, we lovingly serve. We humbly put others’ needs above our own. It’s often easy to serve Jesus, but serving those who we may think don’t deserve it is really hard sometimes. No matter, we are called to wash the feet of the hard to love, the one who has betrayed us, and the one who doesn’t seem to care. Serving others should be a daily way to live.
So, let’s raise our hands and volunteer for this honorable position… to become a bondservant of Jesus. If Paul and others can do it, so can we.