My Master

The Lord has really been speaking gently to me about Him being my Master. It is such a rare word in our vocabulary these days. But it's been such a beautiful thing that the Lord's been taking me through; being able to call Him my Master.

He's reminded me of Mary, the mother of Jesus, saying yes to the Lord to carry and birth the Son of God. She said to the angel, "I am a hand-maiden (bond-slave) of the Lord, may it be to me according to Your word." She trusted her whole life and future into the hands of the Lord so willingly and so wholly! This is my statement to the Lord lately. That I would hear His instructions and that I would say without any hinderance, "yes!"

Christy Nockels wrote a song a few years back entitled, "My Master." I just now stumbled upon what she wrote about the significance of that to her. I could not have said this better, so here are her words:

My dad has been a pastor for as long as I can remember. One of my favorite messages that he used to share was from Exodus 21: 1-6. It's about Hebrew slaves and the process they would go through with their masters after they had served their time. Basically, upon the 7th year, they could go free, or choose to stay. He would tell about the process of the Hebrew slave choosing to stay with their master, even after they were free to go. The slave would publicly go before the community and declare, "I love my master, I will not go free". Then, their ear would be pierced, and the blood would signify a lasting covenant with their master...one made by choice and for all to hear.

He beautifully tied this to our relationship with Jesus, our Master, and reminded us that the disciples often would call themselves "bond slaves" of Christ. We have a will, but when we choose to align ours with His, this brings true freedom and love like we've never known. After he shared this message one night, he felt led to have our church respond in a very unique way... That night many of us lined the aisles of that old church and took the hand of one of the leaders and publicly confessed, "I love my Master, I will not go free". As a teen, that had a great impact on me as those words came from my heart and my mouth, and it still does to this day... Serving and calling Jesus "Master" doesn't' seem to be a real popular thing in this world to have rolling around in your vocabulary and in your everyday life. However, I am compelled to tell of the joy and freedom I have experienced in serving my Master. I will tell of His mighty ways, drawing near to Him and remembering what He has saved me from! Of this, I will forever sing!