The Bondservant's Love
Exodus 21:2-6
2 “If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything. 3 If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.
5 “But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ 6 then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.
Philippians 2:5-8
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!
Devotional: In ancient Israel, a servant could go free after six years, but some chose to stay—not out of obligation, but out of love. They would be marked permanently, pierced through the ear as a sign of lifelong devotion. Jesus became our ultimate bondservant, choosing to be pierced through His hands and feet because of His love for us. Paul tells us to have this same mind of Christ—one that humbles itself and serves sacrificially. Jesus wasn't trapped by the nails; He was held there by love. His devotion to you was stronger than His desire for comfort or escape. Today, consider what it means that the God of the universe chose to serve you. How does this transform your understanding of true greatness?
Reflection Question: In what ways can you demonstrate bondservant love to those around you today?
2 “If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything. 3 If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.
5 “But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ 6 then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.
Philippians 2:5-8
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!
Devotional: In ancient Israel, a servant could go free after six years, but some chose to stay—not out of obligation, but out of love. They would be marked permanently, pierced through the ear as a sign of lifelong devotion. Jesus became our ultimate bondservant, choosing to be pierced through His hands and feet because of His love for us. Paul tells us to have this same mind of Christ—one that humbles itself and serves sacrificially. Jesus wasn't trapped by the nails; He was held there by love. His devotion to you was stronger than His desire for comfort or escape. Today, consider what it means that the God of the universe chose to serve you. How does this transform your understanding of true greatness?
Reflection Question: In what ways can you demonstrate bondservant love to those around you today?
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