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80_I love my master

Exodus 21: 1-6 “Now these are the rules that you shall set before them. 2 When you buy a Hebrew slave,[a] he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. 3 If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out alone. 5 But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.

Adoniram Judson, a missionary to Burma, endured unimaginable hardships: years of imprisonment, terrible diseases, the heartbreak of losing his children and his wife, and the unrelenting challenges of ministering in a tropical country. Yet, when asked why he didn’t abandon his mission for the comfort of a life back home, his response was simple yet profound: “I love my Savior, and I love these people He has called me to serve.” Judson’s life paints a powerful picture of what it means to serve out of love—a life mirroring the heart of a devoted servant who voluntarily lives out his life serving his master.

In Exodus 21:1-6, we find a remarkable framework that illuminates this idea of voluntary, love-driven service. These verses are set within a larger passage where God provides Israel with instructions for living as His covenant people. These are not just societal rules. God is crafting a picture of a just and compassionate community, where even the institution of slavery—so often associated with oppression—is transformed into something humane and redemptive.

The Israelites had survived decades of bitter slavery in Egypt, from which they were delivered only by the mighty hand of God. They knew what it meant to be powerless, to toil under harsh taskmasters. Unlike the harsh slavery of the ancient world, God’s order brought transformation. In God’s land, slavery was not an institution of exploitation. Instead, it was a provision whereby the poor could earn their living.

If a Hebrew man had no other recourse, he could sign away his liberty to another Hebrew, becoming a servant until he paid off his debts or until six years were past. In the seventh year, he was to be set free—with a generous gift of flocks, grain, and wine. These instructions reminded the people of Israel that they were themselves redeemed by God’s mighty hand and outstretched arm.

This law taught the Israelites to treat others with compassion and dignity. More than that, it underscored a fundamental truth: God’s redemption brings freedom. No debt, however large, could bind a Hebrew slave indefinitely because God had already claimed the Hebrew people as His own. They belonged to Him, and no human master could override that divine claim.

Yet, the passage also introduces a second scenario: the bondservant who chooses to remain with his master. After six years of service, a slave could decide not to leave. He could profess his intention to stay, because of his love for his master, his wife, and his children. His debt was discharged. Now he continued with his master in love and trust. The master would take the servant to the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. That tiny hole marked him as a lifelong servant—bound not by debt but by devotion.

The doorpost, often inscribed with God’s commands, represented the household’s standing in God’s covenant and the entrance to the home. By piercing his ear there, the bondservant was declaring his place within his master’s family as long as he lived. He was no longer an outsider but a part of the household, a freeman enslaved by love.

For us, this imagery finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ. He fulfilled the words of Psalm 40:6, when, though equal with God, he came as a willing slave to his Father’s will. In Hebrews 10:5-7, we see the heart of Christ as He enters the world: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—I have come to do your will, my God.’”

It also pictures our relationship with Christ. The Lord has given his life to buy us for himself. Yet he does not ask us to serve him in order to pay off our debt. Rather, he rejoices when we offer him the unmixed devotion of our hearts, in response to his goodness and undeserved kindness. Like the bondservant who declares, “I love my master,” the true servant of God serves lifelong, in love rather than compulsion.

The Apostle Paul exemplified this attitude. When he encountered the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, his immediate response was, “Who are you, Lord?” and then, “What do you want me to do?” From that moment on, Paul considered himself a slave of Christ. It was a title he bore with pride. For Paul, to be a slave of Christ was the highest honor, for it brought freedom from sin, a life of holiness, and the promise of eternal life. In Romans 6:22, he writes, “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.”

The distinction between a servant and a slave is significant. A servant may work for wages, for he is not part of the household. He may go free after a time to live his own life. Yet a slave belongs wholly to his master’s household, and his interests are his master’s. When we confess Christ as Lord, we say, “My life is not my own; I am wholly yours.” This surrender is the highest of gains, for there is no greater freedom than being bound to Christ’s household, one with him.

As servants of Christ, every aspect of our lives is surrendered to his desires. Whether it is our time, our talents, our relationships, or our resources, all come under His lordship. His servants say, “Not my will, but Yours be done,” even when it’s difficult or costly. They trust that His plans are good, even when they don’t fully understand his ways.

Adoniram Judson’s life is a testament to this kind of surrender. His life was marked by sacrifice, but also by joy—the joy of knowing he was living in obedience to his Master.

Let us know the love of Christ our Master, so that we may unhesitatingly become his bondservants. Let us willingly and trustfully place ourselves under His lordship, not out of fear or obligation, but out of love. Then we will find, like millions down the ages, that as he promised, His yoke is easy and His burden is light. We will find the freedom that comes from living in His will and the joy of bearing fruit for His kingdom.

There is no greater privilege or satisfaction than to give service to the Lord who gave His all for us. And there is no greater freedom than the freedom of being His bondservant. Let us, like the bondservant of old, and like Paul, declare with our lives, “I love my Master, my family, and my home. I will not go out free. A bondservant of Christ. I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” God bless.