Upward Steps
November 24
The Songs of Ascent- 4th Song, Part 1
Fine Dining
“I lift my eyes to you, O God, enthroned in heaven. We keep looking to the Lord our God for His mercy, just as servants keep their eyes on their master, as a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal.” Psalm 123:1-2
Occasionally, Sue and I will go with friends to a really nice restaurant. Fine dining is quite an experience. It’s not just about the food, it’s also about the service. The servers are trained to look for half-empty glasses to fill, vacant bread baskets to replenish, and even respond to the facial expressions of the guests. When I eat, they are constantly using one of those little scrapers to clean up the crumbs and mess around my plate!
The psalmist touches on this dynamic of a servant who keeps his/her eyes on the eyes of the master for the slightest signal. God is the master; we are the servants. We have other facets of our relationship with Jesus: brother/sister, friend, co-hear, etc.
But there is one New Testament word that identifies a different aspect to our relationship with Jesus: doulos. It’s translated bondservant in most English translations, but in actuality, it refers to a certain class of slave (see Acts 4:29, Romans 1:1, Philippians 1:1, 2 Peter 1:1, et al—all use doulas/slave). This slave-master relationship is sometimes underrepresented when talking about the Christ-life. But Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess Jesus as Lord…”. Philippians 2:11 says “every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.” The word I, kurios, means owner or master. Kurios and doulos go together. A doulos never really attained freedom but was transferred from one master to another. For those in Christ, that means that we WERE slaves to sin, but now WE ARE slaves to Christ. He went into the slave market and redeemed us; bought us. He didn’t pay with dollars or bitcoin. He paid with His own precious blood.
As slaves to Jesus, we marvel that He would call us friends, Kingdom citizens, even co-heirs to reign with Him. But He is still our Master. We look to Him for guidance, for instruction, and as in this psalm, mercy. Look intently for even the slightest signal of His love for you. It should be enough for the slave.
Jesus, thank you for purchasing me with Your blood. You are my master and I purpose to please You in all things. I am needy. I look to You for mercy. Amen