What exactly is or are the goal[s] of a bond-servant of Christ? Numerous passages in the N.T. describe the character qualities of a bond-servant of Christ and I hope to explore those in some depth in subsequent blog posts but for now, I want to focus on the goals of a bond-servant of Christ. I suppose it could be argued that a bond-servant being fundamentally a slave, would not have any goals of his own but his responsibility is to adopt the goals of his master. In John 4:34 the Lord says to His disciples: ” My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and accomplish His work”. Food is what sustains us and maintains our life. For some of us, food is what we “live for”. Perhaps the Lord included both of these meanings in His statement. For Him, he lived to do the will of His heavenly father; doing the Father’s will was the very center of Christ’s life, the center of His motivation.
Paul says in his letter to the Galatians that if “I were still trying to please men I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.” [Gal 1:10]. In essence Paul is echoing the words of Jesus that we cannot serve two masters [Matt 6:24]. So, it could be stated that a straightforward goal of a slave of Christ is to strongly desire to do the will of his Master, what I call “hassle-free obedience”. [ A longing of most parents regarding the response of their children!] A major component of being a follower of Christ is learning what the will of our Father is and seeking to carry it out. Some of those components are “generic” and apply to all of us [e.g. learning to live a holy life, loving life and responsible life [see Ephesians 5:1-18], and some components have to do with the more-or-less specific “calling” that is revealed in our lives as we follow the Master.
But it is very important I believe that we recognize that our relationship with the Master is not just about our obedience, critically important as that is. It is also fundamentally about learning to love Him, and seek His face, His friendship. Paul says in Philippians 3:10 that he longed to “know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings…” Paul wanted more of Jesus than just living an obedient life. Paul wanted to grow in knowing Him more deeply and intimately “becoming more thoroughly acquainted with Him, understanding the remarkable wonders of His person more completely, and in the same way experience the power of His resurrection…” [Amplified Bible Phil 3:10]
Believers in Jesus may have or set many life goals for themselves. Goals help give us direction for our lives, provide some incentive and motivation and help us endure opposition. But we must make all of our personal goals subject to the two overall life goals of seeking to please our Master AND seeking to grow in knowing and loving Him more deeply. It is true that obedience evidences our love for our Master [John 14:21] but it is possible, I suggest, that focusing on obedience alone can produce a grim-hearted Christian. Our Lord desires that we seek His face, and that entails more than obedience, it entails a growing closeness in pursuing our relationship with Him.
“When You said, ‘seek My face’, my heart said to You,’Your face, O Lord, I shall seek” [Psm 27: 8]
Are you seeking Him?
To restate my updated perception of the goals of a bond-servant of Christ, I will have all my personal goals subject to (1) seeking to please Him by living a holy life/loving life/ responsible life and hearing His Calls; (2) growing in knowing and loving Him more deeply by pursuing a close relationship with Him.
And, it is so true that “focusing on obedience alone can produce a grim-hearted Christian.”
What a godly “Life Design”! It serves as the steering wheel of a “life car” and just imagine the journey ahead!