The Ultimate Master

Now, therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers. Genesis 44:33

What change has taken place in the life of Judah! Years earlier it was Judah who offered the suggestion to sell Joseph. Now it is Judah who is willing to be enslaved so that Benjamin can be returned to his father. He has lived with his father's grief over losing Joseph yet now he cannot bear to grieve him further.

True love does not seek to hurt the other person. Is my heart as tender toward my heavenly Father? If so, it will affect the way I treat His children. For when I mistreat them I touch the apple of His eye. All the precious truths I am learning about God ~ He cherishes me, delights in me, loves me unconditionally, sings over me, desires intimacy with me ~ are also true of His other children. My love for God should cause me to be willing to sacrifice for others. What that may mean to each individual varies. It may mean taking the first step at reconciling a strained friendship, letting another off the hook for not meeting my needs, allowing another person into my circle of friends, helping with a financial need, listening to another's hurts without adding my own story, or sometimes adding my own story.

Judah was willing to become a slave. That would mean loss of freedom, loss of family, loss of dignity, loss of dreams, loss of a future. But when I choose to become God's bondservant those losses become my gains. I gain freedom, family, dignity, dreams, and a future. It is when I die to self that I truly begin to live. It is when I stop serving myself that I am most available to serve God and others.

Unlike human masters, God is a Master with a tender heart and invites me into close relationship with Himself. He has things to whisper to me and incredible things to show me. He doesn't want to see fear in my eyes when I obey Him. Picture two hunting dogs. One cowers in fear at the hands of a cruel and angry master. The other bounds around, tail wagging, tongue flapping, and eyes eagerly anticipating his master's desires. May I respond to my heavenly Father's heart of love in such a way that serving Him is a privilege, a joy, a delight, and the deepest desire of my heart.

Oh, Father, may I always respond to You with eagerness. May I see each opportunity as OUR opportunity to be together. Amen