Remembering Whose I Am

“James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” James 1:1a HCSB

I've been reading the book of James in the Bible almost daily for several days now. It is so cool to take a book of the Bible and do this. It helps you to see so many things that you probably didn't notice before. I try to read the whole book at one sitting, after all, it was written like a letter. I know that we don't write or receive letters much any more, especially not long ones but I think if you were to receive one you would sit down and read the whole thing. I have done this with some other books of the Bible as our teaching pastor suggested it last year; plus, some reading plans that I had seen also suggested it. Anyway, this year as those posts about reading the Bible through came up, I thought I needed to pick this up again and felt led to James.

I was about to do this one day when God stopped me very short on this first half of the first verse. I was quite surprised because I was in a bit of a hurry with God. I hadn't put Him first that morning to have my quiet time with Him and was about to spend time with Him when My daughter called and asked me to come over. I was eager to be with her as she was not feeling well, yet I was straining to put God first. I had determined to do what I had begun, reading the whole of James when I felt that God would have me go no further. It is just the greeting. It seems most letters in the Bible start this way. The writer identifies himself, by name and usually some description and then tells us to whom he is writing. Here James identifies himself as a slave. I think this is much more shocking to us than it would be to those he was writing. Paul identifies himself as such in his greeting to the saints in Rome, as does Jude and Peter in his second letter. As I meditated on this my response was and is: “Lord, this is what I am as well. Help me to be faithful and a good workman.” I felt that God gave me the freedom to go on to my daughter's but to remember whose I am. This idea and phrase has stayed with me for weeks now.

Struggling with the idea of being a slave is a battle I dealt with so very many years ago on a dairy farm in Pryor Creek, America. Home from my freshman or sophomore year of college, my Uncle Howard gave me what ended up being my favorite summer job. I was to round up the cows on a four wheeler and do the morning milking, including cleaning the milk barn after the last cow had finished eating while giving her utters worth, teats cleaned and dipped and let out to pasture. I remember vividly, hosing down and then scrubbing the manure splattered walls with a rather large brush and arguing with God about how badly I didn't want to be a slave. Oh but He brought truth into the discussion! The truth is that we are all slaves. The choice is not; whether we want to be a slave but to whom we belong. We are either slaves to sin and Satan or we are slaves to God. (Romans 6:15-23) So that our focus needs to be on Whose we are.

Another memory that God brought to mind when I was in debate with Him was something that a dear friend of my family told me when he was a senior in high school. He was one of my brothers best friends and like a big brother to me. I don't know if he was writing a paper on this or what but he said that the abolishing of slavery was not good for everyone at the time. Every slave wasn't treated horribly, many were treated as part of the family. They were loved and taken care of and all their needs were met. Many were worse off when they were freed because they no longer had homes or jobs, food to eat or someone to care for them. We value independence so greatly that it is hard to wrap our minds around the idea that being the slave of a good master is the best place you can be. (Please don't take away from this that I think one person owning another is a good idea. I am trying to say that our idea of slavery is so fraught with negative images that it is hard for us to conceive that anyone would want to be one.) One of the possible translations of the word dulous is bond slave. This is a person who has chosen to remain a slave because they don't want to leave their master.

Though I settled the idea that I am a slave, remembering whose I am and living accordingly is still a struggle. Sometimes, I live as though I have not been freed from the power of sin. Too often I forget Whose I am. I have the most amazing master: the Almighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of peace. He is my provider, my shelter, my rock and my hope. He is my Saviour, my friend, the lover of my life, my shield and the lifter of my head. He is all powerful, all knowing, ever present and the rescuer of my soul. He is ever faithful and always acts in love towards me. He has given me eternal life and has prepared a place for me.

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?” Romans 8:31-32 ESV

This is my Lord, this is my God. He is worthy of my service. He is worthy of my worship!

O Lord, my Master and my God help me to remember daily that I am Yours. You bought me with a great price, giving up Your own dear Son. Help me to love You with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and to love my neighbor as You command. Loving You because You first loved me. Help me to rest in You, knowing that You will always and forever care for me. In Jesus precious name, amen.