Being the Presence of Christ

“Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free. Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Don’t threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites.” Ephesians 6:5-9 NLT

I don’t believe in slavery in any form. It is wrong. It is a gut-wrenching stench in American history. A person cannot own and command another, doing with them as they please. Unfortunately, it is still all too common, often couched in terms that do not seem as bad. Human Trafficking is wrong in every form. It is not meant to be justified or sanitized. At first read, I objected to Paul even giving this kind of guidance to slaves. Slavery and servanthood were common across the Roman Empire. Many slaves and servants were coming to Christ. Paul is addressing a very practical reality of how they follow Christ and live in these relationships of slavery and servanthood.

When you take Paul’s writing on living out a life following Christ in submission and obedience, we begin to see something powerful. No matter one’s situation, as a follower of Christ, even someone in the bondage of slavery, is to show up in the world with the transforming presence of Christ.

Go back to Paul’s words framing all of this about united relationships in Christ:

“Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.” Ephesians 4:1-6 NLT.

For most of his life, Paul enjoyed the freedom to move about freely as a Jew and Roman citizen. As a follower of Christ, his freedom has been unjustly stripped away from him. He is now a prisoner, limited and restricted in many ways. He has found something deeper to live out, even in unjust bondage. By following Christ with a spirit of working in unity with others, even his guards, he is drawing them to Christ by the way he treats and respects them. Paul is living as unto the lord in a situation that is not right. Yet he writes with the complete freedom he has in Christ.

Paul also addresses masters. His message is clear: Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Don’t threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites. With God, the playing field is the same for everyone: we are created in his image, he loves us, and he invites us into a relationship with him forever through Jesus Christ. No one owns another. As a follower of Christ, we live in mutual submission as unto the Lord. Don’t abuse or mistreat another human being. Your position of power over another is not recognized or honored by God. Ideally, the master would move to grant freedom to any slave, just as Christ has given all of us freedom by believing, repenting, following, and obeying him.

Have you heard this statement describing living out God’s love in our lives towards others: “The true love of God is willing the good of another.” Whatever the context of our relationship, we are to will the good of the other with the love of God. Even in Paul’s imprisonment, he lived with a freedom that involved willing the good of others, just as Jesus willed the good for us.

May we remember that we are not trying to justify wrong things. Instead, we are showing up with the love of God flowing through our lives to others in any and every situation. Relying on the Holy Spirit to lead you into a deeper freedom in how we live and love others in all situations.

Ed McDowell, C.E.O.
Warm Beach Camp Ministries