To be owned or on my own: Postures for a new decade (part 3)

A brief series of personal reflections on how I feel God has been posturing me for this new decade. Nothing profound. Just an honest and vulnerable look at where I'm at and who God is revealing Himself to be to me.

I recently noticed that a friend of mine describes his religious views on Facebook in a unique way: "Jesus owns me." Wow. I've never really thought of summing up my religious views like that. But having seen it now, I'm stirred by that three-word description. And I think it touches something in my soul that I want it to touch. Because as this new year begins, I too want to be that sold out to Jesus.

Ownership has its implications. If I own something, then I have the final say regarding what that something is to be used for. With ownership comes authority. And 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says that God owns me. This is a little more extreme than simply being a soldier under orders (as in 2 Timothy 2:3-4). This is the idea of being a slave. It says in 1 Corinthians 6:20 that I was "bought with a price." I've heard that phrase used in reference to a person who is on the slave blocks being redeemed by someone else who has paid a price for that person to be freed. But that's not what that phrase is about in this passage, because it immediately follows another phrase -- "You are not your own." It seems to me that this passage is more about the ownership of a slave rather than the redemption of a slave. And with ownership of that slave comes authority over that slave.

This all sounds so familiar. Is this any different than simply calling Jesus my Lord? No, it's the same. But what makes it stand out in my mind is that I feel more accustomed to calling Jesus my Lord than calling myself Jesus' slave. That's because I'm much more familiar with thinking of myself as Jesus' friend or as God's son, which are also true of who I am. But if I'm a Christian, then it's worth remembering that God actually owns me. And if He owns me, then He has the final say over what I do with my life and my day, and I'm not meant to argue. I'm His. I'm not my own.

That's totally applicable to what I do in response to His Word, to daily decisions I face, and to what I do with my future. A slave must die to his or her own preferences or plans. As a slave, my future is no longer mine. Today is no longer mine. And if I don't like that, the only alternative is to be on that slave block, unredeemed and on my own, destined to be owned by my sins until I die in them (Romans 6:16). I don't want that, and it's knowing that the One who bought me is also the One who adopts me (Romans 8:15) that makes me eager to be owned by such a wonderful God!

The Apostle Paul sometimes introduced himself as a slave of Christ at the beginning of his New Testament letters. And I know that he understood the implications of ownership. And if I'm to be as eager to embrace God's will for my life as Paul was, I too need to understand that there's more joy to be found as God's slave than in trying to find satisfaction in the freedom of pursuing my own preferences.

© 2010 by Ken Peters

Lists to Live by

When we make a list, we're making note of things that matter to us -- we're listing things we'd rather not forget. And with about three-quarters of a million words in the Bible, wouldn't it be handy if God just cut to the quick sometimes and used some clear concise lists to tell us precisely what matters to Him? Well, if you haven't noticed, God does do that. From the ten commandments in Exodus 20 to the eight fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23, He uses many lists throughout the Bible to highlight what He truly values!

God uses lists to tell us what we should pursue and what we should avoid. He uses lists to tell us what He requires of us as well as what we need in order to be fruitful. If God offered you a list of character traits and told you, "If these qualities are yours and are increasing, they'll keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful", would you pay attention? And what if He told you of that list that, "If you practice these qualities, you'll never fall"? That'd be an important list to have! Well, there is such a list, and others like it. And personally, I think we ought to remember what God puts on such lists, because they provide an easy way to recall what matters to Him. Let's look at a few, beginning with the shortest list, but also the most important!

Jesus lists in Matthew 22:35-40 what the two greatest commands are in all the Bible... a) Love God with all your heart, soul and mind, and b) Love your neighbour as yourself.

In 1 Timothy 6:11, we find a helpful list of what every man or woman of God should pursue...

• righteousness
• godliness
• faith
• love
• perseverance
• gentleness

Micah 6:8 provides a brief but invaluable list of what God calls "good" and what "the Lord requires of us"...

• doing justice
• loving kindness
• walking humbly with God

And Peter is the one who gives us the list of qualities that will keep us from falling! (2 Peter 1:5-9)...

• faith
• virtue
• knowledge
• self-control
• perseverance
• godliness
• kindness
• love

Those are things God values. And those are things He lists for us so that we'll be sure to notice them. Perhaps they should be on our fridge by our grocery list or in the workshop by our to-do list. And if you want to look up some other valuable lists, see Romans 14:17; 1 Corinthians 13:13; Galatians 5:22-23; Ephesians 5:9; Ephesians 6:13-18; Philippians 4:8; Colossians 3:12-14; 1 Timothy 4:12 and 2 Timothy 2:22.

God makes it very easy for us to see what matters to Him. Just check the lists. And be encouraged that the rich wealth of words before and after each list tell us how God provides us with all we need to live these lists every day!

© 2009 by Ken Peters