Daily Scripture Reading: 1 Collisions 6:19-20 KJV
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (KJV)
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
THE FACT THAT WE HAVE BEEN BOUGHT WITH A PRICE, NOT with corruptible items like silver or gold but with the precious Blood OF Christ, is the foundation of all consecration ( 1Pe 1:18). Consecration is not about making ourselves Christ’s, but acknowledging that we have an inalienable right to be His. Slavery was a market in which human beings were sold as cattle. However, this institution is the first step of our dedication to the service and person Jesus Christ, the Lord who bought them. Slaves are slaves who pass from one master or another. An Israelite might sell himself to slavery during the Hebrew year of Jubilee or until one his kinsmen saved him ( Lev 25:47-50). Christ, our Kinsman, purchased us from sin, guilt, and condemnation. He said, as He bought us, “Ye shall have for Me, but ye will not have for another.”
The supreme sacrifice of our Lord is the foundation of His claim on us. The Apostle Paul says that “He gave Himself for our sake” ( Tit 2:4). To make us sinless, He offered Himself up at the Cross. The Apostles refer to themselves as “slaves of Jesus Christ.” It would be wonderful if we all lived like this, not claiming anything as our own, but trusting that everything we have was given to us in trust for our Master and Lord. He gives us all the work we are capable of doing. Some are called to serve Him in high places in the Church, while others will work in lowlyobscurity. But everything is important in His great House, and He only requires faithful service. When I realized that my Lord owned me, I will never forget it. I was His chattel and could not choose to be a slave or enjoy any emolument. This was the beginning of a life of complete freedom. Christ’s slaves are free, and the more they obey Him, they enjoy the sweet cup that is liberty.
PRAYER for Today
O Lord, I offer myself to Thee. I was created to serve Thee, Thine, as Thy instrument. I don’t ask to see, but I do not ask to know. AMEN.